Now is not a time for rushing past joy.
Do not move too quickly from any good thing:
not laughter or a sight of beauty,
not a taste, a feeling, a companion, or a truth.
These are gifts, not to be wasted.
Be generous in sharing.
Linger and give thanks.
Be excessive in awe.
Just, do not hurry through them
as if they are not precious in this season of grief.
When you encounter the harder things,
still, move slow.
Open to Wisdom’s guidance through pain.
Listen patiently to your fear.
Pause, so that the voice of your body can speak.
You cannot hurry in heartbreak or loss
and hope to make it through.
And all of this, not only for the sake of your own endurance –
but also for each other.
When we tend inward,
we prevent that which makes our spirit decay.
When we nurture our soul,
we grow in our capacities to contribute to the whole.
Nothing much of value grows quickly –
not courage nor healing,
not love that liberates,
nor justice that transforms.
Not the new world we hope to grow
from the ruins of all that is destroyed.
Everything we need the most
for our collective soul to make it through this alive
requires great urgency and abundant patience.
Whenever possible,
take a breath,
and find again the rhythms of life
best for growing our souls.
– Rev. M Jade Kaiser, enfleshed