I took this morning’s first sip of coffee on the porch overlooking the distant hills. Day light crept across the trees below casting shadows on the far side of emerging leaves. Birds sang their songs of a new day’s connection, and thoughts of a friend came to mind.
Once more he undergoes chemo, this time for a new cancer unrelated to the first. His is a warrior spirit. His life is filled with passion and directed by purpose. It is this energy that will see him through yet again.
A reading from A Grateful Heart introduced me to another warrior whose attitude toward her cancer over thirty years ago provides a life lesson for us all, regardless of our history or the circumstances we face today.
In the lines below Dawna Markova’s message is both elusively simple and intensely profound. Our task in life is twofold: to find our passion, what we care most deeply about, and to live our purpose, that which gives meaning to our being here. Our daily choices both shape and convey the ways we fulfill the task.
I will not die an unlived life. / I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days, / to allow my living to open me,
To make me less afraid, / more accessible, / to loosen my heart
until It becomes a wing, / a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
To live so that which came to me as seed
Goes to the next as blossom
And that which came to me as blossom,
Goes on as fruit.
sacredlead 
Your words and this passage have met my heart in a tender place, and I am grateful for the reminder to live each day in love, with passion, and with purpose. We each have a dharma, a reason to be here–our work to do. I read a passage in yoga class this morning about the stages of life as a reflection of the seasons in nature. The last four lines of the poem you share in your post are an echo of that reading. Beautiful words to live by, especially when we embrace our mortality. Thank you, Bob.
Katie, your readings at the beginning of yoga class frame the practice and serve as a touchstone for the day. You are certainly one who has found her passion and purpose and pursues both with determination and grace – an inspiration to us all.
That’s a “wow” passage, Bob. I’m going to hang onto it. Thanks a bunch for sharing it.
Tim
Glad it connected, Tim. I’m grateful for your comment and support.
Beautiful, Bob. You have, once again, touched my heart with your meaningful words. Thank you for your dedication to your Sacred Lead…
Your encouragement is a motivator, Lauren. It is sacred to me that we lead each other. Blessings…