I appreciate the honesty here, and the way that you have thoughtfully and simply shared the lesson with us now. This is beautiful. To many more years of losing yourself to find yourself more <3 Blessings.
Oh, what a prayer and a poem. Thank you so much for this, Steven.
I wonder... if we hold our own compass, and it is our interpretation that gives it meaning, do we not have a choice in where we ask it to guide us? In where we ultimately let it guide us?
This whole poem is a fascinating contemplation, and I'd be glad for your thoughts if ever you wish to share more :)
I think there is something internal inside our created being, given to us by YHWH (God), the Great Spirit, the cosmos, unitive consciousness, or universal truth. We are born with it. Is it heart or soul? I lean toward soul many days and heart other days. At the same time, there is something outside of us that we are connected to that calls us, as you say. It may even be "quantum entanglement" as the physicists say. This yearning to toward the truth calls always. However, I think we can get caught up in constructing our own selves. Was it Freud that spoke of ego? The few psychology courses I had were long ago. Anyway, our ego or constricted self, causes us to be what we want to become, focusing often on riches and material things. While ignoring our true being or raison d'etre, we become constricted by this false or shadow self. It is through great love or great suffering, that we lose that false self and are guided to our true self as she beckons us.
Thank you for taking some time to write such a thoughtful synopsis! I absolutely hear and receive what you're saying, and appreciate it. This is definitely a conversation I would be glad to have with you in more depth sometime :)
I think it is supremely essential to at once have subtle awareness about the movements in our lives of all that you've described above, and also to release the technicalities (the morals, the judgments) and surrender to them as intuitive.
VERY nice, Bob! Oh, this hits in incredible and unctuous ways. There's something (I only wish to call) rich and velvety about your honesty and introspection here.
Thank you so much for your beautiful reflection, Steven! It’s always the greatest gift to touch my readers in some way 💗 I’m glad you could see the light of this poem.
"His compass, whatever it means, means something" <3 What a wonderful line.
I am grateful for this model of loving witnessing you present to us today, Kaitlin. A beautiful reference and inspiration for us all. Blessings for many more years of such attentive curiosity <3
I've always liked the idea that
there was a tool that could
point me in the right direction,
without fail.
I'm not very good at letting myself fail.
Learning to trust my internal compass
instead of looking outward for direction -
reminding myself that
it's okay to get lost,
that maybe there isn't always
a true north to aim for -
has led to me finding myself.
failing is where we learn the most and sometimes where we have the most adventure.
"without fail"
not really a thing, is it.
I appreciate the honesty here, and the way that you have thoughtfully and simply shared the lesson with us now. This is beautiful. To many more years of losing yourself to find yourself more <3 Blessings.
Letting myself fail, (on purpose, for the greater good).
humble. and tuff.
Compass
Maps and tools,
books and rules,
were things I used
to help me
find my way.
Well-worn paths
and charted routes
and tour guides
by my side
didn’t get me
where I wanted to go.
Till I found myself
out in the deep,
no traffic at play,
no signs to point the way,
and the shore
nowhere in sight.
So I listened
to an inner place,
that inner place of knowing,
and although the fears were growing,
I found even the fears
had something to say.
I was not lost.
In fact, I knew
my destination,
and I found my
my compass location
within,
and it led me
to find my way
back home -
to me.
Wow
I feel the pain of
Disconnection
In my solar plexus
Sun-shaped braids of
Nerves
Ache with separation
Stretching, searching for
Integration
Back home to True North
Like a compass needle
Finding
Its magnetic field
I feel that pain too; thanks for the vulnerability and rich healing in your words. I honor that <3
compass
helps us orient ourselves
which way is north
as we journey
if we are lucky
we have a map
to help us
reach out destination
but sometimes
in life
a compass
will actually hurt us
for it will surely
guide us to
where we want to go
but that doesn't
take us where
we need to go
or help us
learn lessons
for our journey
and a compass
doesn't direct us
to mentors or guides
companions or partners
it doesn't makes us
choose between
the adventurous path
less travelled
or the clearly marked
and crowded
easier path
and in the end
after a prayerfully
long life
we all reach
our destination
home
may we all be
equipped with
a compass
but may we
use it sparingly
"Prayerfully long life" - beautiful image!
Oh, what a prayer and a poem. Thank you so much for this, Steven.
I wonder... if we hold our own compass, and it is our interpretation that gives it meaning, do we not have a choice in where we ask it to guide us? In where we ultimately let it guide us?
This whole poem is a fascinating contemplation, and I'd be glad for your thoughts if ever you wish to share more :)
What a fabulous question. There is a lot to my answer. Some of it is through reflection and prayer and some through experience.
I think there is something internal inside our created being, given to us by YHWH (God), the Great Spirit, the cosmos, unitive consciousness, or universal truth. We are born with it. Is it heart or soul? I lean toward soul many days and heart other days. At the same time, there is something outside of us that we are connected to that calls us, as you say. It may even be "quantum entanglement" as the physicists say. This yearning to toward the truth calls always. However, I think we can get caught up in constructing our own selves. Was it Freud that spoke of ego? The few psychology courses I had were long ago. Anyway, our ego or constricted self, causes us to be what we want to become, focusing often on riches and material things. While ignoring our true being or raison d'etre, we become constricted by this false or shadow self. It is through great love or great suffering, that we lose that false self and are guided to our true self as she beckons us.
That is a synopsis
i say its that "kin-dom" that I think Larry spoke of earlier?
Good stuff
Thank you for taking some time to write such a thoughtful synopsis! I absolutely hear and receive what you're saying, and appreciate it. This is definitely a conversation I would be glad to have with you in more depth sometime :)
I think it is supremely essential to at once have subtle awareness about the movements in our lives of all that you've described above, and also to release the technicalities (the morals, the judgments) and surrender to them as intuitive.
Where we need to go.
On Stranger Things,
There was
A wonky compass.
Sometimes I feel
My compass is
Also wonky.
I think people
Or situations
Are safe.
People
Are tricky,
Myself included.
To trust
Or not to
Trust my compass…
So lovely, Liz! Thank you!
I keep reading "I think people or situations are safe" over and over again, wondering what that means to you :)
Sometimes, especially in the Midwest, people can be polite on the surface and then you get to know them…
Not exclusive to the midwest, I'm afraid.
Not safe.
Nice line.
Oh yes, I see :) I wonder, then, if that's more than merely the fault of your compass in that case.
(This, btw, is why I've since gone to live outside of the US ;) Thankfully, that kind of behavior is also a matter of culture.)
Blessings to you as you keep navigating with that compass <3
seeking direction
does it tell you where to go
or where you're going
wouldn't hurt to try
getting some clarity here
compass, anyone?
wandering wounded
oh and yes also wounding
perhaps I'll stand still
VERY nice, Bob! Oh, this hits in incredible and unctuous ways. There's something (I only wish to call) rich and velvety about your honesty and introspection here.
Especially love "compass, anyone?" Yes, please!
Bless you <3
Compass
.
My heart points me towards the north face of truth,
So I’ll close my eyes
And ask it to guide me.
Thus the journey begins.
.
Why am I looking for all that I’m not
Instead of looking at all that serenades me?
Plain, before my eyes, the path is spelled out;
I will never be able to force what is to be other,
Truth will always live on, fiery forever with me.
.
(Forever’s a few years, and only one more day away,
But I promise I trust you. I do.)
.
Even if you breathe free and deep, and let it go,
You still choose to be right where you want to be.
Where do I want to be?
I look down and see the compass in my hand,
Apple of my eye,
Beating core of the temple.
I look up again and the hall stretches out before me,
Alabaster pillars larger than life shadowing me.
Here, there is certainly greatness.
Yet here, too, I am not smaller than the pillars;
I am the gatekeeper of this endless place.
The architect and builder,
The magician and the master.
Almighty.
.
It’s easy to see that she calls to me,
Beckoning me forward - come hither -
From her throne at the end of the hall,
Willing my steps to soak in her rays.
I wish to bend, to kneel, perhaps even to break;
Instinctively my eyes graze the floor,
Almost pious.
But her magic is strong and it pulls me,
Forward and up, my head raising,
My eyes blazing.
.
“You can come kicking and screaming,”
She says,
“But I’d rather offer you to fly.”
That is amazing. Some of my favorite phrases.
"Why am I looking for all that I'm not
Instead of looking at all that serenades me?"
"My heart points me towards the north face of truth"
"It is easy to see that she calls me,
Beckoning me forward - come hither "
There is just so much to love about this poem. Thank you for sharing
Thank you so much for your beautiful reflection, Steven! It’s always the greatest gift to touch my readers in some way 💗 I’m glad you could see the light of this poem.
North
South
East
West
Did not have much meaning for me
Until I came to live in the place
Where the streets have no name
Only here, in the place I now call home
Can I tell you
Without hesitation
In which direction lie
The points of the compass
I honor this beautiful journey of discovery, Jane. Thanks for sharing! <3
a big ass rock that spins poles magnetic. (oolies from fat mr morton's 6th grade earth science)
a location is all it tells.
it doesn't care, it's just a rock.
true north is more like the path
to your coda.
Don't listen to rocks for that.
Compass
Looking westward across high peaks and alpine meadows,
we take compass and map and make our way,
often on trails, sometimes trekking out across open land.
Confident and assured these tools of geospacial wisdom,
And our humble sense of wonder, would safely guide us.
Ranges of light unfolding their beauty like an epic poem,
A glorious symphony, the laughter of a child.
Sacred moments that never fade from our hearts,
Years go by, and there have been many landscapes to traverse,
trails to follows, bushwacking up rope like hillsides,
rivers to paddle and oceans to cross
full moon to lime beneath and dream,
softy and gently honoring next steps.
We always find our way through these places of fire and ice.
out there our maps and compass shelter us
from the storms of indecision and loss.
It is in here, the spiritscape of the heart,
where we often lose our way.
The terrain of love new and bold, rocky and rugged,
we wander in labyrinths of uncertainty,
afraid to step off the path.
In the depths of our longing, even
the clearest map looks cloudy;
Our compass unable to find true north.
Give me a million acres of wilderness and I will find you.
Through the rolling topography of the heart, I will sing for you.
Each moment of distance a chance to expand,
each particle of loneliness one more sign of the miracle,
quietly unfolding in the silence of our love.
"His compass, whatever it means, means something" <3 What a wonderful line.
I am grateful for this model of loving witnessing you present to us today, Kaitlin. A beautiful reference and inspiration for us all. Blessings for many more years of such attentive curiosity <3
Still trying to get caught up from the last week....
The Compass
The compass can sense the direction and show
North, south, east, or west.
It cannot tell me which direction to go
For that the heart knows best.
Karri Temple Brackett
May 22, 2023
https://themarvelousandthemundane.com/2023/05/22/the-compass/