#open is our prompt of the day at 31 Days of SoulStrolling. I have a propensity toward opening my heart to inanimate objects, to see what they might have to say. Much like an artist paints still life, so I engage in conversation. When I open my heart to the world, even in the midst of suffering, sorrow, and strife – magic happens. The following is my response to scallop shells and what they had to say.
Conversation with a Scallop Shell
Humming hello from your marine mollusk home
via gifts from friends, pendants on necklaces,
surprising me in a box wrapped with string,
words inscribed:
“Unless you leave room for serendipity,
how can the divine enter in?
The beginning of the adventure of finding yourself
is to lose your way.”
Announcing loudly, ‘Bonjour, Sharon.
Do you see us?
Do we have your attention?’
Catching my eye in the antique market,
dozens softly singing:
from stirring spoons to name place holders,
silver pieces to crafted shells.
Calling from arched doorways in Paris,
perched on bridges, pedestaled at poissoneries,
holding the sacred vessel of water
at the entrance to Chartres Cathedral.
Stepping into the labyrinth,
exhaling, ‘Who am I?’
Inhaling, ‘Simply be.’
Noticing the unlatching of
magic, sacred, holy.
Symbolic of pilgrimage
you remind me to love the seeker within,
pay attention to my soul’s cry:
walk peacefully, open my heart to
wonder, mystery, lostness.
The ocean waves wash you onto shore
reminding me of the Divine’s guiding hand.
You come from water, the vast deep of ocean.
I hear you laugh, as together we chuckle,
‘Isn’t your word for the year water?’
What do you experience when you #open your heart to the world? What does she offer in return?
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Sharon Richards 