This has been a year of intense fire for me, as it has been for several of my friends, students and colleagues. When the tapas burn so hot that I think I may burn up along with all the impurities, challenges and sufferings that tapas escorts away, how do we stay open, clear, and really take refuge in change rather than fight or wallow? Danna Faulds brilliant poems on just these subjects give me courage and solace; perhaps her words will help you in your struggles. What gets you through the challenging times?

Be well.

Allow, a Poem by Danna Faulds

There is no controlling life.

Try corralling a lightning bolt,

containing a tornado.  Dam a

stream and it will create a new

channel.  Resist, and the tide

will sweep you off your feet.

Allow, and grace will carry

you to higher ground.  The only

safety lies in letting it all in –

the wild and the weak; fear,

fantasies, failures and success.

When loss rips off the doors of

the heart, or sadness veils your

vision with despair, practice

becomes simply bearing the truth.

In the choice to let go of your

known way of being, the whole

world is revealed to your new eyes.

Let It Go, by Danna Faulds

Let go of the ways you thought life would unfold:
the holding of plans or dreams or expectations – Let it all go.

Save your strength to swim with the tide.

The choice to fight what is here before you now will only result in struggle, fear, and desperate attempts to flee from the very energy you long for. Let go.

Let it all go and flow with the grace that washes
through your days whether you received it gently
or with all your quills raised to defend against invaders.
Take this on faith; the mind may never find the
explanations that it seeks, but you will move forward
nonetheless.

Let go, and the wave’s crest will carry
you to unknown shores, beyond your wildest dreams
or destinations.

Let it all go and find the place of
rest and peace, and certain transformation.