A poem by Mary Oliver

I have been all wrapped up in the making of Christmas and have not been doing my daily Magical Mandala affirmations....Something has been missing from my life and I have determined that NOT listening to my soul has given me a sense of sadness....So today, although I did not do a mandala this poem came to mind, and I share it with all who venture here. May the New Year allow us all to continue on our TRUE journey!

Artfully Yours,

Pattie

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

...Mary Oliver