by JOHN O'DONOHUE
I am not a person to take risks.
I am reluctant to leave behind what I have outgrown.
I allow setbacks to overwhelm and stall me.
I see the long picture
and forget that my destination is only ever the next step.
Perhaps this caution prevents me
from becoming all that I was created to be.
"This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness
comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house of its furniture,
still treat each guest honourably.
It maybe clearing out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes
because each has been sent as a guide from beyond."
Rumi
I extended the torso template even further
and drafted a pair of legs with feet.
This provided an empty canvas on which to stitch -
slowly, meditatively,
without judgement or correction.
I used grey thread to stitch rows of gray promises,
often ending in an 'X' - a road block.
Then I started again.
The rose bud I picked up on a walk around the block.
It seemed to fit in her heart.