Yes, We Can Talk

Yes, We Can Talk

Mark Nepo

 

Having loved enough and lost enough,
I am no longer searching,
just opening.

No longer trying to make sense of pain,
but trying to be a soft and sturdy home
in which real things can land.

These are the irritations that rub into a pearl.

view the whole poem here

 

This poem chose me, drawing me in with those first lines. Some part of me instinctively recognized the truth of those words.

Having loved enough and lost enough,/ I am no longer searching,/ just opening. Indeed the loves and losses of my life have brought me to a new place, have given me the grace to no longer demand or even seek answers to the terrible beauty of this life, allowing me to be more open to what is.

No longer trying to make sense of pain, – For years I struggled to make sense of the pain in life, mostly unsuccessfully. Though I fall back into that abyss from time to time, now I am better able to surrender to whatever pain presents itself, knowing that it is only one part of the story.

but trying to be a soft and sturdy home/ in which real things can land. Soft enough to be receptive, sturdy enough to withstand the assaults of life. Seeking to open myself to what is real, whether painful or joyful, as long as it is authentic.

These are the irritations that rub into a pearl. I have come to see that it is all of life, the light and the dark, layer upon layer, that create a pearl. Pearls are precious and beautiful and unique as life itself.

Have you noticed moments when you are no longer searching for answers, just opening? when love and loss have created a dynamic balance in your life?