hollow bones

Thank you, Great Mother, for the opportunity
to honour you as hollow bones on this day.

I pledge to use these gifts joyfully and
offer safety and nurture to the voiceless world.

Finding the words for the dignity of the more than human world;
giving voice to the mysterious inner landscape of the human heart.

I pledge to denounce the collective delusion that we call “the real world”,
which is nought but the shadows of the living dead.

Today I will practice acceptance.
I will accept myself and others as they are;
accept that I am not here to control anything,
but to offer my gifts so that your grace may move through me
— this is all that I can give.
And may I be wise enough to heed my own words.

Today I will practice compassion.
I will look for the root, when I see the branches of a thunder-struck tree; and offer nourishment to those roots — deserving of love.
I will offer them my presence and awareness.
I will have self-compassion by not comparing to others
and forgiving myself tenderly.

Today I will pray with the energies that come to move through me.
May the light in me retain its “kinship with the darkness”.

Today I will remember,
that the only person to whom I owe explanation for my choices is myself.

Today I will gently erode my ego back to dust to return to the earth.
I will remember that I am the formless consciousness behind this clay.
I am not the sum of my thoughts and labels.

Today I will stay in connection with my body,
finding my sweet spot in sharing space with others by taking deep breaths and gently offering touch to the places where I feel energy moving.

May I keep following my feet which know the way, and remember that I am only ever one step away from returning to my path.
May I keep finding calm, beauty and pleasure, even in struggle.

Aho.