This was written by Tammy Burns.
Tammy was one of the participants of the most recent women’s retreat. Everyone was creating Vision Boards. Tammy chose to write her vision board as a prayer. She read it aloud to us the next morning in her beautiful Tennessee accent and with a clarity that gave us all goose-bumps. I asked her if I could share it with my readers…
~Temple~
May I know peace
in the sacred space of my body.
May I find awe
in its tapestry of cells,
towers of bones,
and rivers of fluids.
May I behold treasure
in each tessellated organ-
and cradle my heart and liver
as nurslings.
May I walk, stretch,
and choose food that has been
nourished by light and earth
to imbue each limb
with power
May I treat this body as a guest-
here to visit briefly
considering its needs first…
taking it where it wants to go
even if I’d rather watch Oprah.
May I see aging as a perfect progression
of journey
and float on its current,
exalting its wrinkles
bowing down
before its eyes that don’t focus
like they used to.
May I gather up false notions of aging
and blow them from my palm,
as chaff,
into the wind-
knowing …
all is well.
May I trust my body’s Creator
and know that he who mixed the elixirs
from which it was formed
created it
with a lifetime guarantee.
May I fall to my knees in honor of this sacred home of Spirit
never perceiving one cubic centimeter
as anything
but perfect…
This temple
of God
come to Earth.
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{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for sharing this with us Christine. It speaks to me as I look at this year for turning 60 — who knew I would ever…And I feel fortunate to be living in a time and space where 60, while somewhat dauntingly invisible on the pop culture mass media windshield, is quite a rich and rewarding year to be turning. I see so many women who are in their 50s and 60s and beyond falling into their passions, finding amazing blooms of creative growth.
Thanks for sharing this. I love it. I love the clear images of body and the intertwining of soul and gratitude. Beautiful.
Beautiful.
Wow! That is incredibly beautiful and powerful. Thank you Tammy and Christine.
That is outstanding. I feel sad about how many times I’ve made my body sit and be lazy when it has probably wanted to be out doing and moving and stretching. I am definitely cutting that out and posting it in a few places.
oh my. i will use tammy’s vision-poem as my touchstone for this year’s desire. my word for the year is “health.” thank you, tammy. and thank you, christine, for sharing this amazing writing.
Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing this
Christine, this is so beautiful I had to leave a comment. Thank you for sharing. I hope it would be alright if I borrowed it for my blog – if I do I will link to you. Thanks.
Tammy & Christine, Thank you so much for sharing! Tammy, this is inspirational. My word for 2008 is “Movement” — physical, spiritual, maybe even geographical. This poem is a terrific reminder that physical movement is a way of honoring my body. I am printing this out to put in 2 places where I’ll be reminded morning and night: my bathroom mirror and my journal. All my best to you!
How beautiful! I’d love to print it out and hang it on my wall!
Thank you Tammy for writing it and giving permission for Christine to share it.
Pam
I love this. I’m printing out copies to hang up and to give to friends (attributing Tammy, of course.)
Christine, I thought you might like to read a poem about my friend Sylvia, who’s been going through a hard time and staying remarkably upbeat. It reminds me a lot of your style lyrically. Would it be ok to post in comments? Let me know.
Very, very beautiful. I hope she submits that for publication somewhere.
hi all! wow – i know that tammy will be deeply touched by these comments. and jen – yes, of course you can put it on your blog! angela – if you want to post sylvia’s poem in the comments, that’s totally fine. (make sure she’s okay with it first though!) thanks!
Oh, wow…that poem gave me chill bumps and brought tears to my eyes. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a poem that touched me that deeply. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my Gosh.. STUNNING!
Hi, Christine. I actually wrote the poem as a gift to Sylvia, but she did give me permission to post it here. Hope you enjoy! Christi
Sylvia
This world of ours has a word for rich
and it has a word for poor.
And once I thought I knew them both
but then I saw her by the shore.
Piling up castles in the sand
watching them all fall down
shrugging and taking a friend by the hand,
laughing and splashing around.
Sylvia
we want to live like you
dancing when life is falling around you
Sylvia
we want to love like you
running into the waves
’cause nothing can stop you.
So we watched, and some of us couldn’t help
remarking it didn’t seem fair
she’d build and she’d pray
she’d work and she’d save
and end up with seaweed in tangled hair.
But then others said they were missing the point
’cause some saw behind Sylvia’s eyes
A trick of the light, perhaps second sight,
something a little bit foolish and wise.
Sylvia
we want to live like you
working and making it look like fun
Sylvia
we want to love like you
heart thrown open to the sun
Once a little girl lived without much
most little girls see as obligatory
so she ran from home, and wherever she roamed,
another odd chapter emerged in the story.
Some would have raged; some would have cried;
all would have given in.
But Sylvia shrugged, taught herself how to love,
made it a point of pride to begin.
Sylvia
we want to live like you
eyes gleaming with inner light
Sylvia
we want to love like you
keeping close watch throughout the night.
Sylvia
we want to live like you
dancing when life is falling around you
Sylvia
we want to love like you
running into the waves
’cause nothing can stop you.
Nothing can stop you.
Christi, What a touching gift for you to give to Sylvia. With such love and positive energy coming her way from friends like you, no wonder she is so resilient. Many blessings to you both
Oh that’s beautiful! Thankyou x
Beautiful!
Beautiful post! The lines regarding aging were very powerful for me. I agree so much with Tammy’s positive words about our bodies and the respect they deserve. Thank you and Tammy for sharing this.
SS
Today, I’m into my morning practice- reading a book my husband
gave me for Christmas, Wisdom of the Ages by Wayne Dyer. Today’s chapter was titled
Physical Perfection. Toward the end, I read the words: river of fluid. Later on, he refers
to the body as a temple and a guest. Hm-m-m-m… these words are from my poem. “Oh my gosh,” I thought. Wayne Dyer thinks I’m so wise, he’s using my words!!!!!!!!! Wow- I’m so evolved! Okay- so that’s not true. Could I have read those words in my past and brought them up again to use? If I did, I am attributing Mr Dyer here- as he attributes Walt Whitman. Care and kisses to all and thank you for taking the time to write. I am moved.
Thanks, Meg, I appreciate the kind words. I was really trying to create a ‘theme song’ of sorts to be with Sylvia during times good and bad. I wanted to share it here because I was trying to do what Christine does so well in her lyrics – paint an honest picture of someone’s life, in words, and do it in a way that’s uplifting.
Tammy, apologies if I shouldn’t have posted the poem here with yours; Christine posting your poem really drew my attention to the fact that I wanted to share the Sylvia poem with her. I printed out three copies of your poem and gave a copy to my husband, my really good friend, and to myself. I want to keep it close by to remind me of how I want to treat and think of this ‘temple.’ Thank you so much for writing and sharing. You’ve touched so many people with those words.
very cool. love your bloggie!
Dear Tammy,
Yes you ARE evolved…your words made me cry the first time I heard you read them and they continue to inspire me – I love the lifetime guarantee! Please keep writing and never forget that you are evolved…and evolving…as we all are! What a delightful journey, eh? (clearly Sylvia thinks so)
love to all,
Sarah
christi – thank you for adding your beautiful poem here! it’s lovely. reminds me of the message behind mother teresa’s “anyway.”
it touches me to see so many people respond like this to tammy’s writing! thank you for your lovely thoughts!
Thank you, Tammy and Christine. No matter where you got your inspiration, Tammy, it’s wonderful and I’m sure Wayne Dyer would love it too. By the way, my word is “Grace” and I found it in your poem, too.
This is divine and beautiful. One of my intentions for 2009 is to dissolve a very negative body image. It has been holding me down like a rotten anchor. Your poem and prayer is going to be put in a prominent place and read often, I can assure you! Thank you Tammy and Christine. Best wishes in the Year of the Ox