Some Whyte for Winter

A few days back, a Fire & Water participant shared an excerpt from a David Whyte poem (thx Juliet). The full poem is here.

I love many lines and images from this poem. In this, “…you can belong to everything simply by listening…”

Ah, there it is. The first act. A place to start.
Listening. Listening to self, to other, to circumstance.
Listening to season. Listening to breath.
Listening to the quiet that seems to hold us in an ever unfolding,
offering the next and the next and the next
for the now, and the next now, and the next now.

For inspiration, and with gratitude for David Whyte’s thoughtful ways.

The Winter of Listening
David Whyte

No one but me by the fire, my hands burning
red in the palms while
the night wind carries everything away outside.

All this petty worry while the great cloak of the sky grows dark and intense
‘round every living thing.

What is precious inside us does not care to be known by the mind
in ways that diminish its presence.

What we strive for in perfection
is not what turns us into the lit angel we desire,

what disturbs
and then nourishes has everything
we need.

What we hate
in ourselves
is what we cannot know in ourselves but
what is true to the pattern does not need
to be explained.

Inside everyone
is a great shout of joy waiting to be born.

Even with summer so far off
I feel it grown in me now and ready
to arrive in the world.

All those years listening to those who had
nothing to say.

All those years forgetting
how everything has its own voice to make
itself heard.

All those years forgetting
how easily
you can belong
to everything simply by listening.

And the slow difficulty
of remembering how everything is born from
an opposite and miraculous otherness.

Silence and winter have led me to that otherness.

So let this winter of listening
be enough
for the new life
I must call my own.

One Reply to “Some Whyte for Winter”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Gifts of Circle - Question Cardsasd
Gifts of Circle is 30 short essays divided into 4 sections: 1) Circle's Bigger Purpose, 2) Circle's Practice, 3) Circle's First Requirements, and 4) Circle's Possibility for Men. From the Introduction: "Circle is what I turn to in the most comprehensive stories I know -- the stories of human beings trying to be kind and aware together, trying to make a difference in varied causes for which we need to go well together. Circle is also what I turn to in the most immediate needs that live right in front of me and in front of most of us -- sharing dreams and difficulties, exploring conflicts and coherences. Circle is what I turn to. Circle is what turns us to each other."

Question Cards is an accompanying tool to Gifts of Circle. Each card (34) offers a quote from the corresponding chapter in the book, followed by sample questions to grow your Circle hosting skills and to create connection, courage, and compassionate action among groups you host in Circle.

This will close in 60 seconds

asd
In My Nature
is a collection of 10 poems. From A Note of Beginning: "This collection of poems arises from the many conversations I've been having about nature. Nature as guide. Nature as wild. Nature as organized. I remain a human being that so appreciates a curious nature in people. That so appreciates questions that pick fruit from inner being, that gather insights and intuitions to a basket, and then brings the to table to be enjoyed and shared over the next week."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in In My Nature. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

This will close in 60 seconds

asd
Most Mornings is a collection of 37 poems. I loved writing them. From the introduction: "This collection of poems comes from some of my sense-making that so often happens in the morning, nurtured by overnight sleep. The poems sample practices. They sample learnings. They sample insights and discoveries. They sample dilemmas and concerns."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in Most Mornings. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

This will close in 60 seconds