CONCENTRATING THROUGH THE CONTRACTION

 © 2011 Howard McQueen

These are clarifying times.

These are times to "step up" or "step out".

These are times for many of us to step off the fence

of confusion and uncertainty and respond to our deeper callings.

This is especially true for those of us stepping up to a leadership

calling within our communities.

Let this time of contraction not become hijacked

by the overwhelming fears of self-interest.

Let this become a time for focusing concentration,

for bringing forward a clarified essence.

What legacy do you and your communities most desire to nourish,

to encourage to survive and thrive?

What some people see as a harsh,

destructive winter’s ice-storm,

the nighttime silence interrupted from the splinter and crack of majestic limbs;

others see as a natural pruning.

The destructive nature of fire,

now welcomed amidst the sequoia forests,

only recently recognized as essential to that ecosystem’s health and preservation.

In the spirit of collective accomplishment,

may your community and its precious heart-space

be guided by the courage of its members

to navigate a pathway of unity through this time of clarification and purification.