The Mess in the Middle

And now for something completely different! A message from the universe blew across my desk this past week, in the form of the following poem. I have had this poem hidden in a long buried file somewhere for over a decade...and just now, while I have been dreaming, reflecting, and rumininating on the idea of The Retreat...it reappeared. I casually pulled out a file folder from an old drawer filled with, well, you know..."junk." And there it was. Coincidence? Synchronicity? In any case, it is a wonderful poem brought to me, and now you, by a wonderful teacher, writer and philosopher that I worked with way up in the wilds of Vermont...many moons ago. Toni Stone is a very wise woman and a beautiful, truth-telling soul. I was moved by her and her work. I think she captures the essence of what I mean by the idea of "retreating"...

THE MESS IN THE MIDDLE

"Possibility
exists as seed
resting is required
seeds are small
falling apart happens
process unfolds
stories are told
arrangements
CHANGE
some things are
eliminated
ideas become
OUTCOMES
simple becomes complex
union is a FORCE
old makes way for new
seen is not all there is....
Things are setting up to
HAPPEN
possibility exists
as seed
Resting is required for listening
and growth"

Toni Stone Wonderworks Studio 1995