Poetry Inspiration – from David Whyte

Last Sunday I had the opportunity of joining a writing circle on Zoom facilitated by Ali Grimshaw. I’m not sure if I see myself as a writer or a poet, but I was very curious to explore whatever came up!

My sincere thanks to Ali and the others for being in community in such a supportive and loving way. We came together as if we already knew one another, listened fully as the words came forth, and literally opened our hearts. It was an inspiring experience and I would recommend this to anyone interested in reflective writing and poetry from the heart. You can also find Ali’s poetry on her WordPress blog FlashLight Batteries. I look forward to jumping in again.

These are the inspiring words from David Whyte that resonated with me:

"We shape our self
to fit this world

and by the world
are shaped again"

~ David Whyte,  taken from Working Together

I wrote:

We are born into
a world already 
formed by people 
with their roles,
ideas, and 
ways of being. 
We rely on them 
to keep us safe.

We adopt the views 
on life through the 
eyes of others
to fit this world, 
and be safe.

Then comes a time
when it fits no more.
From comfort
to irritation, 
like a hair shirt 
that itches and 
rubs the neck raw.
Was it just in
a blink of an eye?

We have grown,
but have yet to learn
life's real lesson.

The world is always 
at work, shaping us, 
giving us hair shirts,
and messages that 
go unnoticed 
until we wake up.

Then we realize we 
have to take off 
the clothes of 
conformity and 
discover our truth.

In the shedding 
we allow ourselves
to be shaped anew.

~ Val Boyko