Over 30 years ago I crawled into bed one Saturday afternoon and wrote these words in my journal, “My soul seeks stopping.” I was exhausted, sick, and overly busy with work and two young children. I was living like a robot, deaf to my own heart’s desires. When my body said, “You’ve overdone it. It’s time to stop and take a nap,” I could hear my Soul. It rose up from the depths and said “Stop. Be still. Listen.”
The words continued to flow in a poetic manner, as if my heart were singing to me. A poem seemed to write itself, with a pleasant song-like melody, rhythm and rhyme. Since then, “My Soul Seeks Stopping” has been used in meetings, retreats, memorial services, and newsletters and now here. It was published in a book on women and power in the 1990s. Almost 30 years later a woman in China, who had read that book and seen that poem, found me on the internet. Now she has become a dear client for spiritual guidance and energy work. Recently my niece, Cat Caldwell Myers, (who has a wonderful podcast called Horses, Mountains and Dogs) recited this poem for her followers.
The words invite us to come to a place called Stopping, to rest awhile and listen deeply to our own wisdom and guidance. We connect to “the well within that has no end that I take wherever I go.” This time of stopping helps us to expand our awareness and to shape our lives in a new way. When we return to Going, “My heart will be strong, my mind awake, Love and light will fill my soul.”
When I take time for Stopping, either in minutes of meditation, in times for personal reflection or on vacation, I have a better chance of creating the life I desire and being who I really am.
When and how do you take time to stop and listen to your own Soul? Your deep self truly knows what is in your highest good. When you follow this guidance of your heart, it benefits all other people. As you listen to your Soul’s song, you grow to trust it. As you trust the wisdom, you will receive even more guidance to create a life of joy and alignment with who you really are.
My Soul Seeks Stopping
I’ve come to the place called Stopping,
where I must come to drink.
I’ve come to the place called Stopping,
where I must come to think,
To pick up stones and listen to the sounds of life below,
To rest awhile on an old tree stump
and remember what I know.
I’ve come to the place called
Stopping, where I must come to be,
Between the calls of child and man,
of home and work, of passion and plea,
To be alone and safe for a time,
to feel again the peace,
To see the wholeness of life and love,
the patterns that never cease.
To let the rhythms bubble up within my body and mind,
To take the time to follow them,
no matter what I find.
concerned about the goal, the product, the pain,
Accepting this life’s journey,
the hills and valleys, the sun and the rain.
I’ve come to the place called Stopping,
where I must come to know
The well within that has no end that I take wherever I go.
I take with me the darkness,
the life-giving water, the unseen light.
I take with me the vision
of calm and still, of dark and bright.
When I return to Going,
to action, focus, and goal,
My heart will be strong, my mind awake,
and love and light will fill my soul.
Now I can step with purpose,
with guidance, direction and grace,
For I move with the wisdom of Stopping,
that time cannot erase.
Wendy von Oech 1991