To Bless the Space Between Us
The late Irish teacher and poet John O’Donohue knew a thing or two about speaking to the realness of the here and now—therightnow, in all of its myriad forms. In his last book of poetry, published in 2008 only a short time before his sudden death at the age of 52, O’Donohue weaves words on behalf of the life stuff we find ourselves navigating—the moments raw yet oh-so common—those that often leave us tongue tied or speechless. From threshold momentsin For aFriend on the Arrival of Illness to states of the heart in For Grief, For Failure, For Beauty, For Equilibrium, these poems emphasize the preciousness and paradox of ordinary human existence. He offers us language to bridge the space between hearts, anchoring us through high and low seas. What a gift. As wisely noted by poet Megan Falley in her piece about connecting to her beloved, the late poet Andrea Gibson, from across the veil, poems come complete with “an understanding that anything can happen…that in the process of compressing human emotion into such a small container, the writing doesn’t always have to go long, but deep.”
This simple permission to flow with movement of pencil to paper parallels the potent portal of our breath. This omnipresent and autonomic expression of aliveness comes in a multitude of shapes, from restricted to expansive, depending on our mood, stress levels and intentionality, the language of oxygen communicating between the systems inside our bodies.
So when in doubt about how to bless the space between us in these wild times:Poetry. And Breath.To the beat of your heart or the tune of a favorite song. Slow and deep for relaxation or fast to quickly propel you into a non-ordinary state of consciousness. The breath is just the calling inthatwe need at this moment of chaos in hyperspeed.
How might John O’Donohue bless us if he were still alive today? What energy, love, and tenderness would he share with us in this collective threshold we find ourselves in? Perhaps he would call upon the celebration of our endurance to tolerate/manage/release/be with/continue to love one anotherthrough such times of uncertainty. He would no doubt be cheering us on for finding moments to be held within that sacred space between—between nervous systems and imperfect human language. This person-to-person transmission, as Lakota Elder Tiokasin Ghosthorse speaks to in this recent interview, is the water that nourishes our mission at Wider Circles Collective.
We understand the privilege of co-regulation and attunement well through our years-long therapy practices, yet we remain hungry for more of what immersive, in-person experiences can electrify. When bodies, minds, hearts, and souls sync up in a shared experience of co-creation, a collective spark of the nowin all of its forms beautifully arises. Our individual systems momentarily link to the experience of the whole: a palpable inter-being of heartbeats and breath of those around us. No longer do we have to carry this all alone; rather, whatever arises in us is free to be released and supported by the larger, spontaneous organism we’ve built.
It is this hunger to create collective power, support, and connection that inspired us to host our very first breathwork and reiki workshop earlier this month. Whether our participants were weeping with grief, or belly laughing, or experiencing any other state in between, we celebrated it all. We hope you’ll join us in June for our next workshop, where we’ll be offering breathwork, reiki, and, of course, a bit of poetry.
For Celebration
By John O’Donohue
Now is the time to free the heart,
Let all the intentions and worries stop,
Free the joy inside the self,
Awaken to the wonder of your life.
Open your eyes and see the friends
Whose hearts recognize your face as kin,
Those whole kindness watchful and near,
Encourages you to live everything here.
See the gifts the years have given,
Things your effort could never earn,
The health to enjoy who you want to be
And the mind to mirror mystery.
Things we’re loving:
The Grief and Song ceremony work of Ahlay Blakely & RioMas, with gatherings in the PNW often along with other incredible facilitators & guides in this space.
Francis Weller’s work, forever reverberating in our hearts
The Artist’s Way, a classic read and invitation to step into creativity
In Gratitude,
Claire, Raina, and Sarah
