Sunday, March 1, 2015

My Container

Today I return from retreat.  Ten beautiful women gathered together to create a space of self-exploration and renewal.  There, I have been thinking about the second half of life and wrote this poem that rose out of my reading from Falling Upward, by Richard Rohr, and by conversations with the women on my retreat.  In Falling Upward Richard speaks of our first half of life as a time of creating the container of our identity and the second half of life as being a time of allowing the container to be filled. 

I am the potter molding the container of my life;
The five-year-old innocent finding school a refuge
Somehow knowing that even on the first day of Kindergarten
Her life formed with the clay of education.

I am the potter shaping the container of my life;
The twenty-year-old searching for beauty and finding
batik scarves and clothes that shine outer beauty
While reflecting beauty within.
Her life formed with the clay of deep self-care.

I am the potter casting the container of my life;
The thirty-year-old balancing family and responsibility
To-do’s galore, yet linked to the importance of connection.
Her life formed with the clay of the heart.

I am the potter throwing the container of my life.
The forty-year-old seeped in the sadness of sickness
Knowing that her strength alone would not hold
Her life formed by the clay of grace.

A pot formed by the wheel of kindness and the hands of love
Shaped, molded, kneaded to perfection.
Glazed in beauty and forged in a fire of passion and pain,
Emerging with gratitude
And open to be filled.




Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for dedicating space and time for teachers and teachers of literacy to come together to share ideas, practice and life experience.


15 comments:

  1. Deborah, I loved both the insight and wisdom of shaping a container, and then choosing how to fill it; as well as the poetry of your reflection. This is a beautiful piece!

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  2. Hi Deborah, so lovely to see you here again, and to read those words, a beautiful metaphor for our lives. It's something I'll remember during this time of slicing and contemplation. Thank you!

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  3. A beautifully crafted metaphor - I loved the different ways you played with this, Deborah, to draw upon all its variations.

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  4. A beautifully crafted metaphor - I loved the different ways you played with this, Deborah, to draw upon all its variations.

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  5. What a beautiful poem. My favorite line - A pot formed by the wheel of kindness and the hands of love. You could return to this poem in 10 years and many years later to add verses.

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  6. what a beautiful way to describing the process for growing older...I was thinking about adding other verses for the filling part as well...a beautiful opening!

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  7. Poetry on day one? You are a brave, truth teller. Thank for sharing this vulnerable piece of writing with us. Retreats offer such open space for reflection, and I can sense the movement happening in your life. Exquisite writing.

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  8. Thank you for sharing this, Deb. It resonates deeply. xoxoxo

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  9. This is beautifully written and my soul filled with serenity as I read it. Lovely.

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  10. So beautiful! Thinking that the same clay jar is till open to be filled. It keeps our experiences, but let's new ideas emerge from the depths of experience and life.

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  11. This is lovely, Deborah. These lines are especially powerful and moving to me:
    Glazed in beauty and forged in a fire of passion and pain,
    Emerging with gratitude
    And open to be filled.
    Thank you for sharing your wise words with us today.

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  12. This line really grabbed me: "Glazed in beauty and forged in a fire of passion and pain," What a way to start this month!

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  13. Your words express such a rich experience of life unfolding ....they touch my heart and invite an opening for a deeper consciousness in exploring all the pieces of my own container ..you are an inspiring teacher.. .thank you for the expression of the strength and vulnerability....and grace! This weekend retreat enriched my life ~

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  14. Your words express such a rich experience of life unfolding ....they touch my heart and invite an opening for a deeper consciousness in exploring all the pieces of my own container ..you are an inspiring teacher.. .thank you for the expression of the strength and vulnerability....and grace! This weekend retreat enriched my life ~

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  15. Oh, it is so good that you are back. What a beautiful metaphor, beautifully expressed in each stanza.

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