Amy Annesley, LCSW

Right around this time last year, I travelled to North Carolina to assist my friend, Dr. Arielle Schwartz, at her first Beyond Trauma retreat. It took place at the Art of Living Retreat Center in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a very early travel day requiring that I wake up in the middle of the night to begin my journey. I was surprised to see so many people in line at the airport at 4 am! By the time I reached the gate in Charlotte, NC, I was pretty tired but excited. When I stepped off of the plane, I was confronted with a terminal that a was packed with travelers! Instead of feeling stress or exasperation about how I would find my way through the crowd of people ahead of me, I found I had a very different experience. I suddenly became very aware that rather than chaos or confusion, I felt a deep sense of connectedness to the moment. That inside each body ahead of me is a heart that has been beating for a lifetime and that each person was on their own unique path of their own personal journey. There was a rhythm and resonance that transcended the hustle and bustle of this travel hub and that I could rest in that as I found my way.

There were words that began to pour through my awareness as I walked through the airport and made my way to where I would meet the shuttle that would take me on the next leg of my journey. There was a quiet corner near my stop and hovering over is a statue of a queen. I sat at her feet, propped mine up on my suitcase and rested in the in-between. This poem is what came through as I made my way to this spot.

Traveling hearts

Wake from their slumber
Resting state quickens
Eager to meet a new day a new way

Traveling hearts find their way to the place they’re meant to meet
They find their way to the end of the line
a line that’s longer than ever imagined wind along whine along everyone with their baggage
tired and longing with each step closer to home
Expectant and ready to forget their keys
Each step born anew

Lift off
Ordered together two by two
Canine hearts soothe human hearts
I think of these hearts and I smile
Each heart moves through the rhythm of the day
Old hearts new hearts
I imagine in the midst of the many hearts before me
The first flutters that set the pace
for the burgeoning journey of life
sky body finds earth body here

Here is the gateway of the magnificent light that longs to be let out into the world
Longs to be sung into the world
Hearts taking first steps toward claiming destined love and care

I rest at the feet of the Queen
Her arms reach out to me
Offering her crown to this weary heart
dancing light earth body rise
heart light finds its way from the stars