Whole, Sovereign, Loved

Whole, Sovereign, Loved, acrylic and Posca pen on canvas, triptych. By Lea K. Tawd, Not for Sale.

 

I plant seeds of life

dipped in heartsong;

Clarity, open spaces;

prism rainbows;

gut-deep laughter; 

of dancing freely-

whole, 

sovereign,

loved.

 

I wrote this poem in a day-long writing and art retreat hosted in a nourishing forest space in Oregon.  The retreat was led by writer Dawn Thompson and artist and storyteller Lisa Kagan.  It was their first in person retreat since quarantine times and was a welcome-back-to-the-world of sorts.

I don't like to speak for others, but based on what everyone shared throughout the day there was a strong sense of gratitude to be in community again after so much isolation, coupled with collective grieving and personal loss. 

I personally had been isolating myself further because I had lost my husband at the end of 2021 and being around groups of people tended to be extra painful.  But that group and that day was extremely supportive and life-giving.

Much of my writing that morning had dipped heavily into my grief. It was both painful and cathartic to get it out on paper and to read it out to the group. And this little piece of hope came out of me, too; something to look forward to in a future that I could not fully see. This piece sits, now, where I can see it often and be reminded of what awaits as I continue to heal.

I continue to use both art and writing, along with my reiki practice, to support myself and others in grief and healing.  You can always find my current offerings under "work with me" on the Reiki tab of my website.

You can also find Dawn & Lisa's retreats if you're interested--they host everything under the name Touchstone Retreats.  I'm not affiliated but I really love them and have gone to several of their other retreats since that day.