Dear friend,

There can be times when life flows along ike a smooth stream. Things from day to day unfold at a natural, easy pace, and each shift and change comes like a gradual bend between firm, steady banks.

And there are times when life feels more like a raging river in spring. Torrents of change rush through, flooding one after another and washing away anything that isn’t firmly rooted to the earth.

Since the COVID19 pandemic, these past few months have felt like a rushing river of change. Where do we find stability when so much is shifting beneath our feet? How do we tap into a sense of inner trust in times of uncertainty or fear?

I wrote this poem some years ago, during a particularly hard time in my life when it felt like things were changing faster than I could keep up with. I hope it brings you some ease and strength, and reminds you of the deepest place inside that we can always trust.

In kindness,

Oren

–––––

Trust

I trust what this body knows –

breathing in, breathing out,

the way home.

I trust the ground, which I can stand upon –

the earth that rises to meet my feet

and gives gently beneath my weight.

And I trust that ground which I cannot stand upon –

the falling away

that everything returns to.

I trust what this body knows –

the pulsing and quivering,

the tight, the hard, 

the smooth, rough and flowing.

I trust the great oak and the white pine, who do not question

where the next branch will grow;

who are tall, solid, gnarled and strong; 

who bend in the wind.

I trust the sun, that shines and warms

the taught green skin and deep blue water of this earth;

that sun toward which we all instinctively turn;

which touches our billion faces alike, 

asking only the song of our sincere living in return.

I trust what this body knows –

breathing in, breathing out,

the way home.

–––––

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