Heartful Living and Dying
Rev. Maya Massar, MDiv.
Bucksport Professional Building ~ Suite #1, 151 Main Street, Bucksport, ME 04416

The poem I will read at tomorrow's hospice meeting is a gentle blessing written by author/artist Jan Richardson. I think Jan captures natures offering to us with grace. . .
It is from her book "The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief " The poem is about a blessing that will find you, wherever you are. It is about the turning of year; Solstice, that night that is longest and yet gives way to days that grow brighter, bringing us light, growth, something new. And it is a poem about grief, the long, dark night it can lay upon our hearts, and also, it is about hope. I hope you enjoy Jan's gentle words of comfort as we approach Winter Solstice and the arrival of the newborn sun. (You can click the link HERE or above to go to Jan's website, order her books and/or learn more about her work.) I will read this poem twice; once for the journey, once for my team to listen for a word or a phrase that spoke to them, or will be, perhaps, a key for them this day. Maybe you would like to listen for your word, phrase or key. . . Blessing for the Longest Night All throughout these months as the shadows have lengthened, this blessing has been gathering itself, making ready, preparing for this night. It has practiced walking in the dark, traveling with its eyes closed, feeling its way by memory by touch by the pull of the moon even as it wanes. So believe me when I tell you this blessing will reach you even if you have not light enough to read it; it will find you even though you cannot see it coming. You will know the moment of its arriving by your release of the breath you have held so long; a loosening of the clenching in your hands, of the clutch around your heart; a thinning of the darkness that had drawn itself around you. This blessing does not mean to take the night away but it knows its hidden roads, knows the resting spots along the path, knows what it means to travel in the company of a friend. So when this blessing comes, take its hand. Get up. Set out on the road you cannot see. This is the night when you can trust that any direction you go, you will be walking toward the dawn. —Jan Richardson
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