Dear friends,
It’s been a while since I’ve written. Life with small children plus work has a way of filling most of the space—and then some.
As the season turns, the days carry a weight that keeps asking me to pause and reach out. We are living through so much upheaval—political, environmental, technological. The ground feels unstable in ways that are hard to hold. And yet here we are, going about life, showing up for one another.
Instead of a Dharma reflection this month, I’d like to share a new poem—an attempt to capture the texture of it all. For those who would like to connect more, I’ve included some events and programs below.
Let us keep tending the heart, doing our best to be humane in the face of so much that is inhumane.
With warmth,
Oren
Before They Wake
I.
Spring comes —
warm fragrance and light
ripple across the earth,
tender pink and white
opening
It is the first spring
our daughter can walk.
She grips my finger
her blue cap tilted
each step a small surprise.
Her bright mouth
forms my name.
II.
Before they wake, I sit
I breathe,
a train rolls through the dark
and enters the open window
each morning
before dawn
birdsong still arrives
Last night, somewhere else
the sky split open again—
rockets screeching
a home unmade into stone and dust
a family
running toward nothing
they can name.
III.
Morning after morning
the hills lift their green belly to the sun
ashes lift in the wind
I wake to my daughter breathing beside me
to coffee, dishes, and headlines
to the ground shifting
I make breakfast.
There are eggs, butter, oats
the table feels so solid.
My children make each other laugh.
I walk upstairs and sit at my desk.
Engines cross another darkness
Families bend over broken names
the beautiful mouths
of those they love.
IV.
My son’s wide, hazel eyes
gaze up at me
waiting
His hair is so soft
against my lips.
I hold one thread
of a cloth so vast
I will never see the end.
Every child, everywhere,
whose name I will never know
is here.
Rain arrives
touching everything.
I bend down
to feel the earth.
––––
Upcoming Classes & Retreats
- April 23–30: Lovingkindness Retreat, livestream from home
- June 2–6: Online Insight Retreat, with Matthew Brensilver & Oren
- June 16–July 21: Wise Speech, donation-based online course
- July 17: Freedom in the Body, online daylong workshop
- August 20–23: Living Peace Retreat, online NVC training
- September 8–14: Steadying the Heart Retreat, residential & online
Ongoing Programs
- Clear Dharma Sangha: Weekly meditation group, Wednesdays
- Say What You Mean Online Course: Self-paced training with live Q&A
- Monthly Communication Coaching: Live Q&A for course graduates
- Professional Consultation Groups: For mindfulness teachers and dedicated practitioners
Broken link? It happens; copy and paste the full link below.
- Upcoming events: https://www.orenjaysofer.com/schedule
- All other programs: https://www.orenjaysofer.com
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