Come sit with me, my dear friend,
Come sit beside me
and let me pour the tea.
Come sit with me, my dear friend
Come sit beside me
and let me serve the cake.
Come sit with me, my dear friend
Come sit beside me
and let me hold your hand.
Come sit with me, my dear friend,
Come sit beside me,
And I will hold your heart.
Hello my dear friend!
Hello my trusted friend!
Hello!
How are you?
HOW ARE YOU?
REALLY DEEPLY
DEEP DOWN INSIDE
HOW
ARE
YOU?
I write to you each week (or mostly each week!) and in my imagination I am actually sitting with you and pouring you a cup of tea. Why tea? Because cups of tea are my favourite way of connecting, and to me they are soothing and homely and cozy for the heart.
I usually write to you at night, when everyone has gone to bed, and the sounds of the day have all but disappeared. I find writing at this time very intimate. The silence, the stillness, the darkness - it enfolds us and holds us as we sip our tea together.
And when this energy comes over me, and you, I find that I can then share with you. Share what I have been up to. Share what I am feeling. Share my achievements and excitements, my sorrows and griefs. Sharing with you my work, my meditations, my slow mindful ways of being in the world, in your heart and in your mind.
Essentially I’m just sharing. Sometimes though folk email me and say that I share “Wisdom.” Sometimes folk have called my letters “Healing.” Sometimes folk have just said “Thank you.”
I am just writing to you, as I pour the tea.
Today though, I would like to pour the tea and ask YOU a question.
My question is:
”HOW ARE YOU?”
It is one of those questions that we get asked so many times in the day. Sometimes we answer flippantly, sometimes we change the subject, sometimes we just say “Good. Thanks!” and try to move on.
I wonder how would you answer if we were sitting together drinking tea at night in the silence and safety of my lounge room?
HOW ARE YOU?
HOW ARE YOU?
Sometimes we go from one moment to another in such a haze
that we miss the detail
and the obvious.
Sometimes we go from one moment to another
and we realise that we were holding our breath,
or talking to much.
Sometimes we go from one moment to another
and our shoulders have reached our ears
and our smile
has yet to shine.
Sometimes…
Life just flies by.
HOW ARE YOU?
Sometimes we linger in life
and we see beautiful things,
so beautiful that there are no words to describe them
or we hear sounds so exquisite that our ears prick up
and these sounds open doors within
that we never realised were locked.
Sometimes,
we linger in life
and we touch something or something touches us,
and our lives are never the same again.
Sometimes,
we linger in life
and time pauses
and we feel as though we have stepped through a threshold,
a portal
and life when we return
is so very
very
different.
Sometimes
in life
we linger.
HOW ARE YOU?
Sometimes our heart breaks
and life becomes so fragile that to reach out and touch
feels awkward and clumsy
and incomprehensible.
Sometimes our mind feels as though it is so messy
that we are unable to put into words what or how we are feeling
Sometimes our world has turned upside down
and when we slowly rise again
colours and shapes,
sounds and light,
while similar
are now so very
very distant,
and fragile,
and unattainable.
Sometimes our mind gets too busy with other Stuff
and we forget who we really are for a moment,
a day,
a week,
a lifetime,
we forget the important
the connection
the moments in time that makes our hearts smile,
And then when we return
we are so relieved to be back
and so happy to be alive and free
and here once again.
Sometimes life is complicated
and the road is so very very long
and winding.
HOW ARE YOU?
Sometimes we are lonely
reaching out
yet no one is there.
Sometimes we are alone,
a single boat sailing adrift
in the big blue sea.
Sometimes,
there is another boat
drifting like us
bobbing along and making its own waves
Sometimes,
there is a look and a knowing
and a meeting
and a fare-thee-well.
Sometimes,
we are by ourselves,
neither lonely nor alone
just by ourselves.
Sometimes, though,
there are times when
kindred spirits meet
and share
and befriend.
Sometimes the tide turns and we can breathe out
We are safe
we are held
we are loved.
HOW ARE YOU?
Sometimes we experience life in such a way
that those with whom we once shared
no longer speak our language,
Sometimes we experience life in such a way
that tensions rise and words fly,
and the once easy conversation is now no longer;
Sometimes,
we experience life
and confusion reigns
and sparks fly
and nothing is said nor done…
Sometimes,
we experience life in such a way
that the once fragile egg shells are now no longer
and the thick tense air is now soft and soothing.
Sometimes in life
things change
and change
and change.
HOW ARE YOU, MY DEAR FRIEND?
HOW
ARE
YOU
REALLY?
What have you been doing of late?
What has opened or closed for you?
What has soothed those dark long nights and illuminated them when the sun rises?
What has anchored you to the safety of something deeper and more real within?
What has changed - for better or worse - and HOW ARE YOU because of that change?
And what BEAUTIFUL THINGS HAVE FILLED YOUR HEART MAKING YOU FEEL FREE AND SAFE AND HAPPY AND LOVED?
How are you my friend?
HOW ARE YOU?
Until next week,
May your week be filled with ALL THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS that makes you smile
In kindness,
ps/ HOW AM I? I am well. I am loving the Spring time - everywhere I look there are new blossoms and buds and the baby birds are chirping happily. It has surprised me how grounded I am being back home. And I am enjoying that sense of grounded-ness.
I am also really empowered in my work at the moment. Travelling has taken my healing work to another level. I am proud of that and what I can now offer. I have set new work days and times, and since doing so my work has increased - a lot. I have shifted within and that shows without. I feel that I am offering a new kind of energy - a deeper, richer, more powerful space. Feel free to contact me if you would like me to hold sacred space for you.
Another thing, I also really enjoy and love writing letters to you. I have found a new way to share my gifts - through my writing - and have been blessed by comments, referrals and subscriptions - even financial patrons! Yet more than that I have begun to create a lovely community here through my writing, and the love and support that is shared here makes my heart happy. I have always wanted to reach out to more people, and this platform is so full of integrity that I feel blessed to be here.
Thank you for asking me how I am.
Thank you for supporting me.
Thank you for your trust in me.
Much love. x
SOFT. SIMPLE. STILL is a reader supported publication. My writings, meditations and words of contemplation and healing are posted here for free.
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I've read this three times already and asked myself these simple but deep questions. Appreciate the invitation to go in deeper...will be doing some journalling today! I am tired - tired eyes, tired heart, tired bones. Ready for rest and ready to come out hopeful on the other side of stillness.
I fell into this and felt held in this space Sam, where all of time stops for a moment and I can pause and catch my breath. I feel that same level of upgrade of energy and am tentatively testing out what that looks and feels like, which can expose some vulnerability. I stand in a new power knowing things will never be the same, which is both exciting and daunting at the same time. I welcome this time over tea to spend to reflect and celebrate all that has been. Thank you! 💫🙏