“It’s Time” by Donna Answorth

There comes a day

Somewhere in the middle of every woman’s life

when Mother Nature herself stands behind us 

wrapping her arms around our shoulders

whispering, “It’s time”

You have taken enough now

It’s time to stop growing up

stop growing older and start growing wiser – and wilder

There are adventures still waiting on you

and this time, you will enjoy them with the vision of wisdom 

And the companionship of hindsight

And you will really let go

It is time to stop the madness of comparison

The unending scheduling

The conformity 

And start experiencing the joys

That a life

Free of containment and guilt

Can offer you

She will shake your shoulders gently 

And remind you that you’ve done your bit

You’ve given a lot

Cared a lot

And you have suffered a lot

You have bought the book 

And worn the t-shirt

And you have worn the chains 

And carried the weight of a burden 

far too heavy for your sweet, divine shoulders

“It is time” she will say

Let it go

Really let it go 

And feel the freedom of the fresh, clean spaces within you

Fill them with discovery, love and laughter

Fill yourself so full you will no longer fear what is ahead 

And instead you will greet each day with a cell-bounding “Yes”

She will remind you 

That if you choose to listen 

to the opinion of yourself 

About yourself 

Above all other opinions

You will experience a new era of your life 

You never dreamed possible. 

“It is time”, she will say…

To write the ending

Or new beginning

Of your own story. 

~Donna Asworth

By Hafiz

With That Moon Language

Admit something: Everyone you see, you say to them, "Love me."

Of course you do not do this out loud, otherwise someone would call the cops.

Still though, think about this, this great pull in us to connect. Why not become the one who lives with a full moon in each eye that is always saying, with that sweet moon language, What every other eye in this world is dying to hear?

-Hafiz

By Mary Oliver

Eventually tides will be the only calendar you believe in
And someone’s face, whom you love, will be as a star
Both intimate and ultimate, 
And you will be heart-shaken and respectful. 

And you will hear the air itself, like a beloved, whisper
Oh let me, for a while longer, enter the two
Beautiful bodies of your lungs...

Look, and look again.
This world is not just a little thrill for your eyes.

It’s more than bones.
It’s more than the delicate wrist with its personal pulse.
It’s more than the beating of a single heart.
It’s praising.
It’s giving until the giving feels like receiving.
You have a life- just imagine that!
You have this day, and maybe another, and maybe
Still another…

And I have become the child of the clouds, and of hope.
I have become the friend of the enemy, whoever that is.
I have become older and, cherishing what I have learned, 
I have become younger.

And what do I risk to tell you this, which is all I know?
Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.  
- Mary Oliver