Writing My Way Into Love, April 11

Monday, April 11

Proverbs 16:24: Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

I have always written poetry. In fact, I think I began writing poetry before I even fully understood what poetry was, if poetry can be defined in any certain way. For me, poetry has always been a process for responding to what I see and experience in the world around me, both seen and unseen. In this regard, I think it was a natural progression for my poetry to become a tool of contemplation, an essential part of my spiritual practice.

Contemplative practice is a cornerstone in the major religious traditions, as well as nonreligious spiritual practice. Some call it meditation, some call it prayer. Others might see it as a combination of practices, or something else entirely. But I think many practitioners would agree that contemplation is an opportunity to put the ego aside, to live in a moment where barriers are broken down and everything is connected, is whole.

In Christian contemplation, this often takes the form of finding the God of love within ourselves and our lives. Richard Rohr, Franciscan priest and ecumenical teacher, explains that “a mystic is one who recognizes God’s image and likeness in this human being, in this creature, in this moment, and comes to see God everywhere and always.” Contemplative practice is often the way we train ourselves to engage in the Perennial Wisdom of the mystics and discover God’s love within ourselves and everything around us.

I hesitate to assign a definition to contemplative poetry because I don’t believe there is a singular aspect that identifies a contemplative poem, and to some degree, all poetry is contemplative in nature. But I can tell you what contemplative poetry has been for me in terms of how creating these poems have become a spiritual practice in my life.

For me, contemplative poetry is a way to tap into this mystic understanding, to grapple with the mystery of God, the benevolent love energy that connects us all, and to train myself to choose to live with a heart of love, with open eyes for the wonder and beauty that is all around me. My journey into creating contemplative poetry has done a great deal for me. It has provided me with a space where I can synthesize spiritual teachings into something that is both concrete and evocative. It has helped me ask questions, wrestle with doubt, and continually center myself to live with a heart of love. With every poem I write, I am getting closer to living into my calling as a Child of God, to putting light and love at the forefront of everything I do.

I will end with this. Poet and philosopher Mark Nepo said that, “To walk quietly until the miracle in everything speaks is poetry, whether we write it down or not.” May you find the poetry in your daily living and may it begin to make you new.

Here’s a contemplative poem I wrote for the season of Lent to help me center. I hope it centers you as well.

I am a dwelling place for love.

As the robin builds her nest of sticks and twigs, woven together, clumps of grass and dirt, so my body, muscle and bone, blood and marrow, becomes a living house.

Stephanie Harper, Assistant to the Lead Pastor *taken from an essay published by Grok Nation