Goddess of the sacred pauseb2ap3_thumbnail_62007434_2349438221935053_7755860314008059904_o.jpg
 please grant me the courage
to lay aside swiftness
and take up slowness,
to embrace limitations as learning,
silence as stabilizing,
waiting as worthy,
and sitting as divine.
Goddess of the sacred pause
help me to know stillness as strength,
patience as powerful,
and healing time
as holy necessity.

I fell down hard this week and injured my ankle pretty badly. It has been hard to go from the magic of mobility, to spending time in bed with my leg elevated and an ice pack on. As is common to note when dealing with an unexpected experience, I am noticing how very much I took for granted my own swift movements through the day, the everydayness of being able to easily get myself where I need to go.

I have been unable to go down to the woods in the mornings, or on my evening walks with my husband, two of the greatest joys of my days. While I am grateful this is temporary and humbled to know that for many other people mobility is an ongoing challenge, I am also honoring and acknowledging for myself that it is difficult to feel reined in, constrained, and "invalid" in this way.

This morning, instead of going to the woods, I sat on the deck in the cool air, watching the morning sunlight dance through the mulberry leaves and feeling the breeze bump against my heart. I remembered that watching and witnessing is one of my most precious and powerful gifts and I wrote this prayer above in honor of sacred pauses.

May I soften into limitation, relax my striving, ease my straining, and relax into resting.