Today – September 1st – which in New Zealand is the first day of Spring, seems the perfect occasion to announce that the seeds of Courage & Renewal work in New Zealand have made important new growth. Rodger Spiller and I, with mentor Rick Jackson alongside, have led two wonderful retreats over two weekends – Courage to Teach and Courage to Lead. I'm in awe of the transformative power of poems, of the way our participants were so ready to engage deeply with this work, and of the personal insights that emerged from our Circles of Trust. I feel heartfelt gratitude to the poets and writers for the gifts they so generously offer the world.
While on retreat over dinner one evening, I mentioned my quest to build my library of NZ poems, and Lesley, a school counsellor, offered her favourite – the poem she keeps at hand to help sustain her in her daily work. It is too good to keep to myself …….
While on retreat over dinner one evening, I mentioned my quest to build my library of NZ poems, and Lesley, a school counsellor, offered her favourite – the poem she keeps at hand to help sustain her in her daily work. It is too good to keep to myself …….
The Bridge
There are times in life
when we are called to be bridges,
not a great monument spanning a distance
and carrying loads of heavy traffic
but a simple bridge
to help one person from here to there
over some difficulty
such as pain, fear, grief, loneliness,
a bridge which opens the way
for ongoing journey.
When I become a bridge for another,
I bring upon myself a blessing, for I escape
from the small prison of self
and exist for a wider world,
breaking out to be a larger being
who can enter another’s pain
and rejoice in another’s triumph.
I know of only one greater blessing
in this life, and that is
to allow someone else
to be a bridge for me.
Joy Cowley
There are times in life
when we are called to be bridges,
not a great monument spanning a distance
and carrying loads of heavy traffic
but a simple bridge
to help one person from here to there
over some difficulty
such as pain, fear, grief, loneliness,
a bridge which opens the way
for ongoing journey.
When I become a bridge for another,
I bring upon myself a blessing, for I escape
from the small prison of self
and exist for a wider world,
breaking out to be a larger being
who can enter another’s pain
and rejoice in another’s triumph.
I know of only one greater blessing
in this life, and that is
to allow someone else
to be a bridge for me.
Joy Cowley
This reflection is written by Joy Cowley, a prolific and much loved NZ author of books for children and young people. It is from her book, Aotearoa Psalms, published by Pleroma, Higginson St, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. The book includes lush illustrations by photographer, Terry Coles, who is Joy’s husband. The email address is: order@pleroma,org.nz. It is also available on http://amazon.com
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