Freshening

 View from the Hariseeket Trail, Wolf Neck Woods State Park, Maine

Freshening

A focus on attending to the pain,
the needs of others
has long been my companion.
So deeply ingrained
that I tend to override my own,
yet I both hurt… and need.
This antiquated habit
of putting myself last
sometimes constricts
 my sense of allowing
 the rhythm of healing
to move freely through.
But, it does anyway.
When I spiral softly
into another chasm
that needs attention
I can get confused,
think I must do something,
apologize,
or that I’m simply
supposed to hurt.
Eventually, though,
my breath joins
the wind in the trees,
the pulse of the ocean,
the vastness of the sky above.
I can smile,
say hello to new Health,
let pains release over time.
With a freshening of companionship
in this vessel that is me,
I become more and more adept
at riding
 the steady waters of healing,
letting them carry me along.

Sarah Carlson
July 8, 2021