The Most Important Thing

I am making a home inside myself. A shelter
of kindness where everything
is forgiven, everything allowed—a quiet patch
of sunlight to stretch out without hurry,
where all that has been banished
and buried is welcomed, spoken, listened to—released.
​
A fiercely friendly place I can claim as my very own.
​
I am throwing arms open
to the whole of myself—especially the fearful,
fault-finding, falling apart, unfinished parts, knowing
every seed and weed, every drop
of rain, has made the soil richer.
​
I will light a candle, pour a hot cup of tea, gather
around the warmth of my own blazing fire. I will howl
if I want to, knowing this flame can burn through
any perceived problem, any prescribed perfectionism,
any lying limitation, every heavy thing.
​
I am making a home inside myself
where grace blooms in grand and glorious
abundance, a shelter of kindness that grows
all the truest things.
​
I whisper hallelujah to the friendly
sky. Watch now as I burst into blossom.

Posted by kind permission of the poet.

Photo by Arno Smit

Julia Fehrenbacher

Julia Fehrenbacher is a poet, author, life coach, teacher, regular practicer of yoga, and a sometimes-painter. She is most at home by the ocean and in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and with pen and paintbrush in hand. Whether through her writing, classes, or one-on-one coaching, her greatest passion and purpose is to support others in dissolving the barriers they have built within themselves, and back toward their truest, most awake and alive heart-centered home.

See more content by Julia Fehrenbacher →