I give thanks for the way you melt my ice, when my peaks have frozen, from over exposure, to poisonous echoes from the past…
~ A poem about recovery from trauma. A reminder to all those who have suffered deep pain, that you can be set free from your suffering. May love warm your soul, wherever you go.
I wrote this poem in December 2022, during my first visit to Saskatchewan (and first experience of a deep Canadian winter with -30C!) It is for all those who have experienced deep pain and suffering – a reminder to have faith, to trust in the journey and process of healing, and to keep your heart open to receive love again.
I enjoyed performing this last week at the Cathedral Village Arts Festival in Regina, now that the spring flowers are in bloom.
The natural world is a source of great inspiration for me – and supports me both in my own personal processes, as well as when I facilitate/create healing spaces for others.
We can draw analogies between the “seasons” of our lives, experiences, and emotions – and the cyclical rhythms of nature. We can practice non-judgemental presence with whatever life is confronting us with – moving beyond binary thinking, towards appreciating the beauty in all aspects of life’s journey. For instance – on one hand we may associate winter with cold, grey, depressive moods. However, there is also beauty in winter – in the unique snowflakes catching the glimmer of the sun, in the quiet stillness of the frost-bitten air. There is also something special about cocooning and retreating inwards into hibernation. So too can challenging moments in our life give us the opportunity to turn inwards, to realise something about our character, to forge our identity stronger, and emerge brighter into the light with a greater sense of who we are, our mission on this earth, and how we can be a better member of our communities.
And just like the natural seasons are constantly changing from one to another, so too can we realise this is what happens in life. If we tap into this realisation, we can use the momentum of nature’s rhythms to aid us transform negative emotions into positive ones, and keep ourselves moving forward – with motivation and optimism for the spring, and the blooming of our hopes and dreams.
The musical accompaniment in the video is by Last Birds Music – and the performance took place during a beautiful evening of collaboration and co-creation at The Artesian theatre.
I hope you enjoy, and may love warm your soul, always.
Cara
p.s. For those in Regina, I am facilitating a weekly meditation & sharing circle series (Sunday afternoons in June) which is focussed on emotional alchemy and release through creative expression, with an emphasis on working with the analogies and power of the seasons. I fuse together my creative writing skills with experience as a meditation guide and facilitator. Get in touch if you are interested!