"...you can stay as long as you like..."

"...No one's gonna take that time away,
you can stay as long as you like...
so, close you eyes
you can close your eyes
it's alright..."
- James Taylor

Sometimes, when the world seems to be spinning faster than I can navigate...while trying to stand upright on my feet...I go to a quiet place, lie down, and close my eyes.  I imagine my Father-Mother God saying, "It's alright, you can 'Close Your Eyes'...it's alright, I'm watching." 

So, I surrender to Her voice,  and once again:

I
enter
the nucleus of prayer

that
sanctuaried silence
where
earnest longings
meet
the
splayed form
of a
repentant heart...

and steps over
the discarded,
scattered,
sun-bleached bones
of the
ego's
carcass*

here
in this place of
deep margins,
white space,
and
unpaginated moments
of conscious
streaming

there are
no words....

there is
nothing but the
heartbeat
of
a divine Mother,
Her bosom at my cheek...
cooing,
a lullaby
sung
in the nursery of
human hopes


the
orchestrated
rhythm of
the universe..

spiritual
grace-notes
thrummed
softly
on
an infant humanity's
small
shoulders

it is
an ordered
hushing
of the earth, earthy

the tender stroke
of Her
cool fingers
on the
brow of a child...
the
toddler... who's finally
dropped off
from
edge of
fighting

fallen from
the
precipice of
control,
into the
canyon of
letting go
and trusting
Her
deep arms

released from
the fitful thrashings
of the self
and
quieted
beneath
Her
calming
touch

the lavender
scent of Her promise
calming,
stirring,
soothing,
drifting across
bare questions
of innocence...
through
the window of
gratitude...
rustling
the bedcovers of
the heart
and
resting on
holy
ground...
the
waiting
petals
of
unfurled hopes...
warmed
by
what lies waiting
for you
in
the nucleus of
prayer

For those of you who love rare moments of music history, here is a lovely clip of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell singing "Close Your Eyes"...precious...

"We must close the lips and silence the material senses.
In the quiet sanctuary of earnest longings,
we must deny sin and plead God's allness."
- Mary Baker Eddy

with Love,
Kate
Kate Robertson, CS


* this section is inspired by an excerpt from "Living Like Weasels" by Annie Dillard