Every step is part of the journey.
—Brother David Steindl-Rast

•••

Begin, the good brother advises,
with a pause and a deep breath.
Then ask the question:

What am I carrying into this moment?

Every step becomes a pilgrimage,
a journey to a sacred center,
one that transforms,

even if we do not feel the shift.
Intentional step after intentional
step keeps us on our path,

though mine is likely not the same
walkway as yours. What you carry
is not what I carry into this moment.

Yet we both take one step at a time
toward what all beings want: love,
self-compassion, courage

and understanding. We ground
with each step; we unfold. May we
remember to set down what

is not ours to carry. Lighter,
then, may our wings carry us
wherever we need to go.