Rest...

North Shore, July 2009 (c) Erica Staab

Come rest in the arms of love,
come take shelter in the space made for you,
come release all you hold so tightly to,
come and breathe...

it is warm here,
let all that you cling to melt away,
in this space you are enough.
Just as you are,
just in this moment.
Enough.

Stop striving to be anywhere but here...
here is where healing begins,
here is where love takes flight.
Here is where you rest in wholeness.

Come rest in the arms of love.

Deep breath...

Allow yourself to simply be,

let this moment fill you- whatever it is, wherever you are, whatever it brings

sink into the moment of peace, of pain, of what is.

The pain will not break you, even though it may feel as though it will.

The peace will carry you, even though sometimes it feels closer than others.

The joy will sustain you, even when it feels fleeting.

The grief will ebb and flow, the healing will land softly in it's own time.

And tomorrow will hold it's own grace, it's own challenges and opportunities.

For this moment choose to be wherever you are.

What we learn...

It was my grandpa's 90th birthday recently.

And I feel like these three pictures tell his story more than I could.

His love of learning, his zest for life, for figuring things out, always looking up, his love of sharing knowlege and his love for family.

I have learned a lot from him, and I have realized that we have several things in common.

He asks questions about mechanical things and systems of doing things... his life is rooted in the farm, in the building and rebuilding, in the seasons of life as they roll on though. He has never met a stranger, just a friend he hasn't gotten to know quite yet, and often he will start a conversation with a question, believing that someone else has some sort of knowledge to impart that will help him understand the world.

I too ask questions, and although I don't delve in the realm of mechanics and tractors, I ask questions about people, about why they work. After watching for years him help people feel at ease and comfortable in the world I try to do the same.

Always with a sparkle in his eye, a long stride and an ever-ready laugh.

Happy 90th Grandpa!

Letting Grace in...

Nelson Farm- Barn Light (c) Erica Staab

Sometimes you need to make room for grace and light to enter.

Drinking Deeply...

Surround yourself with people who drink deeply of life.

People who show up, who are willing to laugh, to play, to learn,

people who are willing to make mistakes,

who travel lightly and tread carefully in the realm of the heart

but most importantly...

surround yourself with people who live to love.

Longing...

Stone Barn Window (c) E. Staab

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the sea.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery


What do you long for?
What lights you up and causes you to burst with energy, awe and excitement?
What have you done to share that longing with another?

I recently went on a family adventure to go see this beautiful Stone barn that was made in the early 1920's. It was built by a master craftsman who obviously took pride in his work. It was amazing the details and the forward thinking that was inherent in the design and the workmanship of the barn. And although much of it has fallen victim to time and weather the beauty remains.

The Chosen Ones...

I went to an amazing retreat/conference/seminar last week that has recharged, renergized and reframed the way that I look at the world, my life and my work.

We all need times like that- to be surrounded, to be filled to the brim, to be revitalized, to remember why it is we are doing the hard work of mending broken souls, of healing hurts and helping to find new paths for our clients.

As a result as a gift to myself and the participants I wrote and shared this poem...

Our time together was a reminder that we all brings so many gifts, and that we all are called to use them! Not to just let them ramble around in our hearts and minds- unseen, unshared and unheard- but to let them spill out onto paper, through our voices and in our touch. It was a reminder to me to share the gifts I have been given, and in turn, frees others to share their gifts as well...

The Chosen Ones

I have touched the edge of your pain.
I have seen the tears hidden behind your eyes.
I feel the tears in the fabric of your heart.
I feel the doubt that rises up from within.

And yet,
I hear the power of your voice.
I see the strength you have to keep showing up.
I feel the vitality that resides deep within you,
the spark of light in the midst of darkness,
the seeds of hope you tend to so carefully.

I want you to know.
I see you.
I will stand with you.
Step into your power.
Trust your heart.
Follow your vision.

Your voice is needed,
to be added to the chorus of the healers who have gathered.

I invite you.
I dare you.

Stand in your truth.
Stand in your power.
Stand strong in your love.
You have been given all the tools you need.
Your journey has come to this point.

Go out:
choose love,
cultivate hope,
offer grace,
speak with compassion
love fiercely.

You have been called,
you are one of the chosen ones.