Trust What You Love
Jungian analyst and wise woman Clarissa Pinkola Estés writes, “It is said that all you are seeking is also seeking you. That is, if you lie still, sit still, it will find you. It has been waiting for you for a long time. Once it is here, don’t move away. Rest. See what happens next.”
We have such a desire to seek, strive, reach, make things happen. Our journey so far in this pilgrimage of the heart has been to learn to wait, attend, attune, and receive what comes. This is a practice of learning to trust in the love that pulses at the heart of everything. When we sit still and allow what we love to find us, when we give time for it to unfold and surprise us, we may discover deeper layers of wisdom than we knew possible. We become shaped by how we receive the word as much as by the word itself.
Preacher and mystic Howard Thurman said once in a conversation, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” You might be asking yourself how this word you have received contributes to the world’s needs. And yet Thurman begs us to ask a different question. He prompts us to ask what makes us come alive, what sparks our heart each morning to gratitude, what gives us comfort at the end of each day, what is the one thing that feels vital to hold on to if we had to release everything else.
Twentieth-century German-language poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote in his book Letters to a Young Poet, “This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple ‘I must,’ then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse.”
Consider substituting the word create for the word write to give it a more expansive reach. What you love, what you seek, what makes you come alive, if you must pursue these things with your precious life energy, then what would it mean to build your life as “a sign and witness to this impulse”?
Almost two millennia prior to Estés writing, one of the desert elders, Abba Poemen, said, “Do not give your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.” We so often try to satisfy our hungers and longings with things that are not nourishing.
Meditation: Give Your Heart That Which Satisfies
Allow a few moments to center yourself and deepen your breath. Bring your awareness to your heart and rest in the presence of the Holy One.
Imagine that you are entering into the cave of the heart, that inner sanctuary space where we encounter the sacred within. From this place of retreat and stillness, begin to ponder the ways you try to nourish your heart. What are the things you give yourself—whether things, food, experiences, relationships, or other—that you are drawn to because you think they nourish you?
See what arises in your heart and consider each one. Does it truly nourish you? Or does it take space from that, which would be more life-giving? Be gentle and compassionate with yourself as you continue to ponder this. What are the things that fill your time and space that you could release? Imagine freeing yourself from the need to maintain these things and breathe into the space created.
Begin to let the word that has chosen you gently echo in your heart. Imagine this word has set out a feast on a table for you. What are the delicious fruits it offers to you? What sweetness does it bring to your life? When you consider your word in relationship to nourishment, does this feel like it truly brings you what you need to flourish in the season ahead?
Spend some time reflecting on these questions and noticing your body’s response as well as your heart. What will enlarge you? What will bring you alive? What must you do before all else?
After a few minutes, come back to the word itself and let it echo again within you. Then allow some time to journal what you noticed or discovered.
For more inspiration, read these reflections from a past participant:
How much time and effort have I put into things that do not nourish/satisfy my heart?
I’ve carried Christine’s question in my heart for these last few days: “What are the things that fill your time and space which you could release?” Just pondering the question has made me feel more spaciousness in my life. And when I reflect on this question with my word, “Allow the Light,” echoing in my heart, I feel as though I’ve opened to the possibility of a new way of living. (Debra Olson-Tolar)
Editor’s Note: Content taken from Give Me a Word: The Promise of an Ancient Practice to Guide Your Year by Christine Valters Paintner (Author), ©2025. Used by permission of Broadleaf Books.
