Being the Beloved:
stories of ongoing transformation in daily life
By Lisa Alteio, Asst. Director CFDM Direction Program
Last week I was listening to a friend read an excerpt from a Richard Rohr book. As her words washed over me, a few landed in a soft place in my heart. Pondering, rearranging, playing with those words ended in a happy result; a short, but meaningful poem.
I am grateful to have the chance to share it with you.
“Make Space”
Make space
Open and inviting
For
The whole human experience
These words gently invited me to pause, reflect, and pay attention to what is being evoked in me. I heard questions such as:
What does making space for my whole human experience look and feel like in this season?
How can I embody an open and inviting posture for the whole of my human experience?
What parts of me are asking to be invited?
What aspects of myself do I struggle to welcome? And which am I comfortable welcoming?
Am I cultivating open and inviting spaces within, so that I am able to welcome others in their whole human experience?
I love how this poem found its way to me so unexpectedly and has made a home in my heart. I look forward to what its companionship brings me through this season, and the advent season to come.
I pray as you read it, it creates space for you to notice and attend to what arises within you.
Lisa Alteio received her certification in Spiritual Direction through CFDM in 2014. She previously served on CFDM’s Board of Directors. Lisa teaches in the direction program sharing her passion for the arts as well as contemplative and embodied spirituality. Lisa lives on Mercer Island with her husband, John. She loves learning, reading and boating on Lake Washington and visiting her daughters, Katie and Sarah, in Southern California where they attend college.
What books, media, activities are nurturing your heart, soul, mind, strength in this season as we are loving God and our neighbor as ourselves? Post in the comments below or hop on over to our Facebook page and share with one another.