waking up as the sun

slowly crawls out of bed

to unveil its dim light

into my room 

through thin crevices

 of thick curtains

while my body

unmoving

lazily lays

under heavy blankets.

dawn whispers

deep secrets of the world 

into my ears

trying hard not to awaken

 my unopened eyes. 

remains of

sweet dreams

linger in the silence

inviting my quiet mind

into the seductive garden

of play

without abandoning

the innocence of truth.  

All the true vows
are secret vows
the ones we speak out loud
are the ones we break.

There is only one life
you can call your own
and a thousand others
you can call by any name you want.

Hold to the truth you make
every day with your own body,
don’t turn your face away.

Hold to your own truth
at the center of the image
you were born with.

Those who do not understand
their destiny will never understand
the friends they have made
nor the work they have chosen

nor the one life that waits
beyond all the others.

By the lake in the wood
in the shadows
you can
whisper that truth
to the quiet reflection
you see in the water.

Whatever you hear from
the water, remember,

it wants you to carry
the sound of its truth on your lips.

Remember,
in this place
no one can hear you

and out of the silence
you can make a promise
it will kill you to break,

that way you’ll find
what is real and what is not.

I know what I am saying.
Time almost forsook me
and I looked again.

Seeing my reflection
I broke a promise
and spoke
for the first time
after all these years

in my own voice,

before it was too late
to turn my face again.

~ david whyte

The biggest lie you ever told


Your deepest fear about growing old 


The loneliest night you ever spent 


The angriest letter you never sent 


The girl you swore you’d never leave 


The one you kissed on New Year’s Eve 


The sweetest dream you had last night 


Your darkest hour, your hardest fight 


The saddest song you ever heard 


The most you said with just one word 


The loneliest prayer you ever prayed 


The truest vow you ever made 


What makes you laugh, what makes you cry 


What makes you mad, what gets you by 


Your highest high, your lowest low  

~lyrics from ‘Inside Out’ by Trisha Yearwood and Don Henley