Essentially Me

©2014 Louise Gallagher

I am going to start living life like a monk
cleansing myself of superficiality cluttering
the corridors of my creative expression
aligning itself along the fault lines
of normalcy that does not sit
well amidst the sacred calling
of my soul to listen
listen to my heart’s beat
yearning for release.

I am going to start living life like an artist
breaking through the constrictions of my need
to keep myself safe within
the voice of reason urging me
to be careful and not lean too far
over the edge of chaos calling
calling me to dance
naked with the birds
soaring on the wind.

I am going to start living life like an artist and a monk
casting off the conventional
wisdom of my being
on the road that winds its way
through the forest
of my thinking thick with the belief
there is no other way
to be than how I am,
here, right now.

I am going to start living life like a mystic
running wild through the forest screaming
high upon the wind’s of life diving
into my creative expression free falling
into the light of being who I am,
in the beauty of my spirit rising
rising up within the Divine essence
of being one with the One
here, right now.

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This poem is in response to this week’s lesson for the 12 week journey I am taking with Abbey of the Arts — The Way of the Monk. The Path of the Artist. the course follows the twelve-week journey outlined in the book The Artist’s Rule: nurturing your creative soul with monastic wisdom, by Christine Valters Paintner, Abbess of the Abbey.

The invitation was to write a poem using the title of I Am Going to Start Living Like a Mystic  by Edward Hirsch as its inspiration. It was a beautiful and calming exercise into the divine essence of being present with the muse.