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When we stand before the river, we see in it a part of ourselves:
Our troubled past, our fears, our worries, the things we long to resolve;
And although the river appears daunting and wider than we would like,
We see in it an opportunity to heal the inner difficulties that often hold us back.

The river is merely a metaphor for the heart and for the mind,
It always seems to carry the same old water, again and again;
So our problems flow before us more than once, reminding us,
Until that which needs to be addressed is eventually addressed.

The river longs to run clean and afresh: the ideal state of things,
When the mind and heart seeks complete healing and peacefulness;
But the river is always in motion as we experience the world around us,
So we must learn to look inside in order to lay the past to rest.

If we look at the river, it reflects back to us like a mirror,
And sometimes what we see is not what we expect;
But if we deny what we see inside, or try to hide what hurts us most,
Then the river will continue to flow before us, and carry the same old water.

Like Dante, the poet, who wrote the epic Comedy and the Vita Nuova,
Who journeyed toward the highest of spheres in order to know the greatest love,
Before he could find that love, he had to pass through a river
Where people stood ready to guide him, in order to wash away his past.

And so we too may need someone beside us
When we approach the river in order to resolve the past;
Someone who can support, guide and heal us as we cross,
So that, one day, the river will be behind us and it can at last run clean and pure.

 

 

Written by Mark Woollacott
Wednesday 5th November 2008.