Nourish Your Torn Spirit

Unison Benediction

Return to the most human,
nothing less will nourish the torn spirit,
the bewildered heart,
the angry mind:
and from the ultimate duress,
pierced with the breath of anguish,
speak of love.

Return, return to the deep sources,
nothing less will teach the stiff hands a new way to serve,
to carve into our lives the forms of tenderness
and still that ancient necessary pain preserve.

Return to the most human,
nothing less will teach the angry spirit,
the bewildered heart;
the torn mind,
to accept the whole of its duress,
and pierced with anguish…
at last, act for love.

— May Sarton (source)
Belgian-American novelist, poet, and memoirist

Reader Responses

Who are you when you are with your beloveds?

How is this different from who you are with others? How does intimacy help you grow into wholeness?

"My family gets my authentic self. This can be a good thing (I'm comfortable enough to make great jokes and give great hugs), or a bad thing (I'm comfortable enough to snap at them when I'm annoyed and relax into bad habits). Regularly seeing myself in this way at home keeps me humble and grateful to my family for loving me despite my worst qualities and because of my best qualities. Their love helps me continue to grow."

Anonymous, PA, USA

This Week’s Messages

Mon Nov 04

True Devotion

“I honor you / You honor me / Let this rhythm continue on / Eternally” …
Tue Nov 05

Friends Do Not Take Readily to Being Cared For

“Friends do not take readily to being cared for. ‘Caring matters most’ has been quoted to us when seeking direction during our active years. But many of us will find that we ourselves are in need of full care in our old age. This will not be easy. It calls for ‘a different kind of living,’ as one Friend commented when answering questions about experience in a home for the elderly. Uprooted from familiar well-loved things, of house and neighbours, released from stabilising responsibilities (however small), there will be adjustments to be made.” …
Wed Nov 06

Being single and fulfilled

“Singleness is a state in which many of us find ourselves… Some of us choose, for various reasons to remain single – an absorbing career perhaps or the care of others which we feel demands all we have to give and in which we find fulfilment. We all need to love and be loved and for some of us this need is met, and can be met, in all sorts of nourishing ways. We need to look for these ways and then recognise them with joy when they come to us.” …
Thu Nov 07

Independence and Dependence

“In the true marriage relationship the independence of the husband and wife is equal, their dependence mutual, and their obligations reciprocal.” …
Fri Nov 08

Accept Sorrow as a Friend

“What we must do…with God’s help, is to accept sorrow as a friend, if possible. If not, as a companion with whom we will live for an indeterminate period, for whom we have to make room as one makes room for a guest in one’s house, a companion of whom we shall always be aware, from whom we can learn and whose strength will become our strength. Together we can create beauty from the ashes and find ourselves in the process.” …
Sat Nov 09

Light Arises Out of Darkness

“Art thou in darkness? Mind it not, for if thou do it will fill thee more, but stand still and act not, and wait in patience till light arises out of darkness to lead thee. Art thou wounded in conscience? Feed not there, but abide in the light, which leads to the grace and truth, which teaches to deny and put off the weight, and removes the cause, and brings saving health to light.” …

Banner art by Joey Hartmann-Dow

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Author

  • May Sarton is the pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton (May 3, 1912 – July 16, 1995), a Belgian-American novelist, poet, and memoirist. She resisted the label of ‘lesbian writer’, preferring to convey the universality of human love.

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