I’m doing deep and uncomfortable dives over here, in my inner life, to ready myself for the leadership that’s calling me (splashes of this process are showing up on my Facebook page). And as I do so I’m struck by what feels to me like the cradling in this sketch.
There is a wholeness to this process we’re all in – this process of experiencing so much (ache, challenge, growing pains; joy, connection, victory, light) on internal and external fronts. I can’t prove it, and wouldn’t press the idea onto anyone who’s in a dark night.
But I feel it. I feel the weave of darkness and light being somehow inseparable. Somehow part of our healing and of some long, mysterious process of being set free.
+ + + + + +
This week’s give-away will happen Sunday afternoon. Comment here by Sunday at 12 noon Pacific Time to be entered to win a 5×7 of today’s sketch.
Update: Comment #4 is this week’s sketch winner (generated thanks to random.org). Congratulations, Lindsey! Shoot me your mailing address and I’ll drop it in the mail.
Everything Belongs
Seasons are universal. Treat yours uniquely.
This fall so nicely with my word for the year FREEDOM – freedom to feel the good, bad and ugly – Freedom to know it is all OK – Freedom to realize that it is part of growth and the journey – as you state – It is part of the whole – I always felt that we should embrace all of it as there are lessons to be learned – I keep telling myself to listen to the drafts and whispers – to sit and be still – and to acknowledge the message as a next step – But boy — don’t those steps seem to take so long at times???? I get a litte excited when I think about where everything will end up and how I will make this journey my own….
good luck on whatever you are thinking of -
Comment by Bobbi — February 15, 2013 @ 12:46 pmI am responding to this message in a powerful way… The feeling of being set free feels more like letting go, so I can take hold of the life waiting for me…
Comment by Julie — February 15, 2013 @ 2:30 pmYour words resonate with me right now, not for myself for my sister who is in a very dark place and cannot see any light. I struggle to know what to do for her and yet struggle to do nothing, your posts help me understand where she is at. I really liked the comment “I would not press the idea onto anyone who is in a dark night”. Giving her space with support to find her own way.
Comment by Karen — February 15, 2013 @ 3:46 pmThe weave of darkness and light … oh, yes. So true for me: every moment of joy is limned with awareness of loss, but, likewise, every dark moment contains the memory of light. xoxo
Comment by Lindsey — February 16, 2013 @ 2:06 pmYes. I’ve recently been feeling ready to take my own deep dive, after what seemed like a long ride of floating on the surface, sometimes calm and sometimes stormy but always at the whim of the waves. And finding that cradling has been a pleasant surprise.
Comment by bethany — February 16, 2013 @ 7:59 pmYour words always seem to come at the perfect time, easing and softening the edges of my soul. Thank you!
Comment by Marnie Blum — February 16, 2013 @ 9:41 pmI believe we have to welcome in the good – the bad and the ugly – each serves a purpose – altho we may not like to think so – each has a lesson and in that respect each can eventually be called a friend -
Comment by Bobbi — February 22, 2013 @ 12:01 pm[...] There’s a type of safety in being a mess – an instant camaraderie with others feeling similarly and no fear of sparking jealousy or shame. Suffering connects us to each other with sweet, empathetic threads. ~Kristin Noelle in this post [...]
Pingback by Read Across America Day | We Love Gratitude : Be Grateful — March 2, 2013 @ 7:10 am