Unless We Rest

Today's memorized poem,"Trough" by Judy Sorum Brown, reminds me not to flail in frustration or fear whether I am facing loss, a new learning curve, or the vagaries of life.

I recite this poem while doing a yoga sequence beginning in Warrior Pose II . As I move from this pose to others, the poem just fits, whether I am reaching back in Reverse Warrior Pose or resting in Triangle Pose.

(Note--I rarely wear yoga clothes--just whatever I put on for the day.)

In the poem-yoga flow of "Trough,"

I feel a sense of guidance toward how to better handle whatever comes my way.

---

Trough

There is a trough in waves, A low spot Where horizon disappears And only sky And water Are our company.

And there we lose our way Unless We rest, knowing the wave will bring us To its crest again.

There we may drown If we let fear Hold us within its grip and shake us Side to side, And leave us flailing, torn, disoriented.

But if we rest there In the trough, Are silent, Being with The low part of the wave, Keeping Our energy and Noticing the shape of things, The flow,

Then time alone Will bring us to another Place Where we can see Horizon, see the land again, Regain our sense Of where We are, And where we need to swim.

Used by permission of Judy Sorum Brown. Her poem "Trough" can be found in her book,

The Sea Accepts All Rivers & other poems and in the Poetry of Presence: an Anthology of Mindfulness Poems.

Photos:

Horseshoe Crabs, Delaware Bay, Delaware, USA

Clouds, Green Sea Turtle, Raja Ampat, Indonesia.