The poetry of self-compassion–healing with David Whyte

It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted anything here, but I’ve been exploring the poetry of self-compassion. In my last post, I wrote about feeling overwhelmed and breathless. And I’ve been feeling that a lot of late

Poetry of self-compassion–a gift to myself

I have been feeding my poetic soul with a class by David Whyte called: The poetry of self-compassion: revealing what is hidden as a gift to others.

Since the pandemic began, he’s been offering various courses that meet on three consecutive Sundays. I’ve thought about taking one, but this is the first one I’ve done. The timing and the topic both seemed just right.

One of the things he spoke about last Sunday was (not an exact quote) that sometimes we hold ourselves together through sheer force of will. Then at some point, something happens in our present circumstances that makes us feel like we’re hitting a wall at full force. Then we break apart. We need this breakdown, he said, to return to our foundation–to that place of true rest inside ourselves.

When will we give ourselves that real rest that we long for? I’m trying, but it’s hard–I have so many commitments right now. But I’m trying to take my rest where I can find it and to find rest within my busyness (it works sometimes).

Poems for inspiration

David Whyte has shared many poems with us–some of his own and some by other poets.

He shared one of my all-time favorite poems, Wild Geese by Mary Oliver:

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
Love what it loves....

He shared his own poem called Santiago, after asking what should we bring on our journey? What should we leave behind? Bring everything you have, he said--your reluctance, your woundedness, enthusiasm, and abiities. Here's the beginning of that poem:

The road seen, then not seen, the hillside hiding
then revealing the way you should take, the road
dropping away from you as if leaving you to walk
on thin air, then catching you, holding you up,
when you thought you would fall...

Taking time for reflection

So, inspired in part by David Whyte, I’ve been taking some time to reflect, some time to breathe in and let go of what no longer serves me. I’m pausing to consider what next steps I want to take in my creative life. Mostly right now, I’m finding comfort in journaling and painting. We’ll see where it leads. I do feel like I’ve been running full-speed, holding myself together by the strength of my will. At least this time, I managed to stop before I hit the wall.

Well, that’s all for today. I’ll keep you posted. And thanks for stopping by.

I hope you take the time to get the rest you long for–it’s been a rough year or three!

xoxo