Softer
More Vulnerable
No Armor
No Shell

May immense suffering
Rip your heart open
Not cause it to close

May it open you and soften you
To feel each moment of beauty in its moment
And love deeply and abundantly

May you see and work on your own path
And not mistake another’s path as your own
Though they run in the same direction

May you love and counsel
But not interfere

May you warmly offer wisdom
Without trying to control

May you offer knowledge
Without taking over the challenge
And depriving your friend of their opportunity to learn
Even if in doing so they may fail

May you receive counsel without 
Feeling controlled or judged

May pain be your guide and teacher
May you see pain as such and not as your enemy

May you pass through suffering swiftly
But not so swiftly that you don’t see the lesson

May you recognize all of your teachers
And be compassionate to your students

May you feel deeply without being hurt
When you are hurt may you not heal completely
But increase your capacity for compassion

May your scars remind you of love 

Kinder
More open
Still
Alive

This poem, prayer, meditation, or prose…whatever it is…was the result of a writing session when I was trying to make sense of the anxiety of being a mother of two college children on opposite coasts, to whom I am very attached and who were arguably over-parented. Also, I was cataloguing some of my hopes for myself and them, in no particular order. My contemplation is rather non-theistic these days as I try to take responsibility for that which I am able to control and let go of the things I cannot control, as well as the things I should not control. Being a parent is such a training ground. Being human is such a training ground. I hope that if you are reading this, that it finds you well and open to the challenges of the day.