February 14, 2023
May New Melodies Break Forth from your Heart
By Amba Gale
“When old words die out on the tongue,
new melodies break forth from the heart, and where old tracks are lost,
a new world is revealed with its wonders.”
––Rabindranath Tagore
Bengali poet/philosopher Tagore opens us up to some brilliant questions:
What old words is it time to let die out on the tongue?
What new melodies are ready to break forth from the heart?
What old tracks is it time to lose?
What wonders are the new world revealing to me?
As I, sometimes cautiously, sometimes boldly, move out of my self -imposed 3 year exile from traveling, and peek out into this new world of ours, starting to inhabit it, inquire into it, re-discover myself and myself in it, once again, curious about, in amazement with, in wonder about, and in listening for what is now possible, I find myself exploring and carving out new beginnings, for myself, my life, my relationships, others, and the world.
I am committed that this new world reveal itself to me with all its wonders.
In this spirit, last week my husband I placed ourselves on an adventure, a trip to Cuba and The Latin Jazz Festival!
What a departure from the norm! How awesome it was! Aside from the vibrant colors everywhere, the richness of the art, the vitality of the music, the robustness of the culture, the PEOPLE were spectacular! Hardy, curious, welcoming, caring, nurturing, knowledgeable, inviting, resilient, talented to the extreme, and oh, so loving.
The beat of the music was ever underlying all our journeying. Like a heartbeat for life, the music resonated in our souls and gave us a rhythm of joy. We swayed, we danced, we played, we enjoyed all the performances, and we made music ourselves.
Having shaken up my universe, I come back to my world with a new life, with a new awareness of how connected, welcoming, inviting, letting in, we can all be with one another.
In David Lynch’s 1984 film adaptation of Dune, Duke Leito says, “a person needs new experiences. They jar something deep inside, allowing him to grow. Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens.”
I invite you to intentionally consider the opportunity of “jarring yourself” awake – awake to a new beginning, exploratory, interested in, curious about, as you step onto new land. Is it possible, at this time, to let go of those aspects of the old, the familiar, to shed skin that is dead, to leave the familiar that pulls us into sleep?
What is it time for you to leave behind?
What is it time for you to create newly?
What no longer empowers you that it is time to let go of?
What brings you aliveness that it’s time to step into?
What new threshold is it time for you to cross?
I leave you with a Blessing for your journey to come…
For Your New Beginning
By Amba Gale
May you step forward into
many new journeys
new islands for exploration and adventure.
May you arrive at each island, intensely curious, open, willing
to discover
what you didn’t know you didn’t know,
an experimenter,
an explorer,
fresh, and ready to pioneer.
May you move
in accord
with your essential nature.
May each of your islands
greet your arrival with invitation, welcome,
and celebration.
May you be open to surprises.
May the ferryman in his sturdy wooden boat
always be there for you,
to take you
to your next crossing,
after you embody the Teaching of that Island.
May you weather the rough crossings,
where the frigid wind howls and the waves grow high
with Faith,
a great sense of not knowing,
of Adventure,
of Beginning,
and a largess of spirit
holds
your coming deaths,
births,
and arrivals
with love.
