Mindful Poetry Day 14
Wild Geese
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
By Mary Oliver
For the next 20 Days I invite you to connect with Mindfulness through poetry. Leave a comment if you’ve enjoyed the poem or post your favorite poem.
Here is a step by step guide on how to engage with this practice:
- Each day I will post a careful selected poem
- Find a quiet place, sit comfortable and read the poem aloud to yourself, preferable more than once. An audio recording will also be available in case you prefer to listen to the poem
- Take the poem into your heart and your body. Become intimate with it and allow it to guide you into intimacy with yourself
- Allow a spaciousness of interpretation, openness of the senses and a deep experience of understanding, distinct from cognitive comprehension.
- Spend some time with the poem, as a way of choosing to be present and mindful.
- Bring the poem into your family and community. Share your experience with your loved ones, including Mindful Brain Community.
