All this beauty is yours. All of these stars shine and all of these flowers bloom for you. The misty mountains were carved out with your pleasure in mind, and the sparkles of afternoon sun on the water are to favor your eyes. The peacocks blazon, the wolves howl, and skies blush for you; and […]
Author: Cristen Rodgers
The Tempest
A roll of thunder explodes from inside of her chest as the tempest stirs, awakens, and begins to rise. With the impending threat of a storm, a curtain of velvet drops over the world and, one by one, heavy drops drip from her slowly darkening eyes. At first heavy and hot, then cold and sharp, […]
Swim Through the Pain
I didn’t find my way back with grace but with grit – one day, one second, one fear, one tear, one storm at a time. I stumbled along, dragging the tattered scraps of dreams behind me – pleading, bleeding, and breathing in rhyme. At times it seemed the world was being washed away in a […]
One of Those Days
In that moment, she decided that never again would she wake up a slave to the remnants of days before. From then on, she would start her days with the simplest of affirmations. Each morning, she would close her eyes, take a deep breath, and feel her way to the complete conviction that today is […]
Built of Something Different
Some of us are built of something different. Some of us need to be uprooted in order to grow. We have to deliberately let go of everything that grounds us, that shelters us, that defines and confines what’s real. Some of us have to burn, to break, to jump, to implode – because in that […]
It Doesn’t Matter
The truth is that very little of it really matters. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether it’s labeled a failure or success. It doesn’t matter if they turned out to be trustworthy or they burned you the minute your back was turned. It doesn’t even matter what you managed to hold on to versus […]
Listen and Answer in Kind
Immigrant is just another word for person. Illegal immigrants are just people too. People who are trying to find peace, who are trying to escape danger, who are hoping to find equal opportunity. People who had to circumvent the system, but who nonetheless have reasons for everything that they do. Reasons that aren’t all that […]
Don’t Tell Me I’m Pretty
Don’t tell me I’m pretty; I had no say in the matter of my looks. I didn’t choose what features I would have or what shape my body would take. I didn’t create the palette from which my eyes, hair, and skin were painted; nor did I hold the chisel that crafted my frame. Tell […]
It’s Time to Rise
It is time. It’s time to rise. It’s time to step up, to step out, to step into our truth, our power, our missions, our might. Now is the time to offer support, protection, and encouragement. Now, as the world is awakening and so many people are shaking off the last remnants of sleep. Now […]
One Year of the Elements
One year of the elements – introduced and induced, one by one. Three hundred sixty-five lessons, beneath three hundred and sixty-five suns. The wind was the first among them to rise, to beckon, whispering my name, as a herald, a signal, a caution, a sign, that nothing would ever be the same. Next to call […]
Stand in Your Fullness
So now here I am, clothed in my womanhood, standing in my power. Here I am, stronger than I ever would have imagined I could be, more free than I ever thought possible, living with more purpose than I ever dreamt I’d find. So now here I am, looking back at the girl I once […]
A New Earth
…and then, one by one, they started to remember. They remembered the truth. They remembered that everything they saw, everything they touched, everything they are is love. They looked at one another and saw precious gems of divine love, enclosed in pristine physical displays. They regarded every creature, felt every breeze, knew every sunray as […]