This poem and the paragraph which follows are taken form the monthly Attunement Circle notes in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Rhodesia Remembered: Gratitude-Joyce Pretorius
I have walked where no human feet have trod,
and sat beside the waters.
I have worshiped in a cathedral of tall trees,
and thanked God!
I have listened to great orchestras,
in the thundering waters of the Zambezi,
and gentle arias in its quieter places.
I have seen splendid sable silhouette against a sunset,
and watched a herd of elephants drinking in the vlei,
I have prayed 'neath a star-studded sky and thanked God!
I have heard nostalgia in the cry of the fish eagle
as it winged across waters,
and loneliness in the wind as it sighed through the acacias.
I have seen mists rising from the river in the glowing dawn,
encircling pink-tinted spurwing geese,
and gazed at a distant rising cloud of dust
which appeared from four hundred buffalo!
I have watched the rains pour down, and the floods rise, and drop;
the rain cease, far too long.
Then once again Heaven-sent rain!
Growth! Gladness!
All these privileges that I have known and loved through the years
have become a part of me.
And also through the years, standing sentinel,
our beloved Baobab.
Changes come, and I am sad.
But I thank God for what I've had...
Many are experiencing a letting go in various ways - moving home, city, country - a letting go of old habits and ways of being, a letting go of people, pets and possessions. And underlying it all... there is such a clear, strong expression of hope, optimism, ease and peace from everyone: the experience of being in the eye of the storm; thankful for the trials and tribulation as a springboard for the next cycle; noting how things work out unexpectedly; trust and respect for others as they handle what they need to; life goes on...
This experience of letting go involves surrendering to all of what the moment calls for: something more than is seen on the surface; something that reaches deep into our very core. This surrender sometimes asks of us to release the person we felt we were -- our history, our story or more -- and when we truly surrender and allow this release, may we find rest within the stillness of Being.
Excerpted from the monthly Attunement circle in Johannesburg, South Africa-courtesy of Louise Broomberg