My Piecemeal House (& Dancing Back to Simplicity)

Mine is the piecemeal house
with patched couch
peeling and cracked cabinets
broken back-slat chairs
Clutter made up of books,
boxes, and bags of
papers, poetry, and prayers.

-My Piecemeal House, Kasey Hitt, 2021
 
One day I got caught up in the comparison game and found myself on the losing side. 
Comparison games are anxiety-causing no matter what side you're on and being on the losing side most often leads to feelings of shame.  So to get my feelings out rather than get stuck in them, I scribbled down this poem.  The last line surprised me as it invited a shift.  It was a call to come home to a value and spiritual practice I appreciate but can often lose sight of: Simplicity.
 
On Sunday, my husband played the old Shaker song on the piano, “Tis the Gift to Be Simple” (aka "Simple Gifts").  The rest of us sang.  We started having fun with it by playing multiple versions on Amazon Music—fast and slow tempos, lyrics and instrumentals, solo singers and choirs, brass, dulcimer, and piano versions…
 
We stopped once we got sick of the song!  However, listening to it over and over helped us hear, meditate, and move with it so the message could go from head to heart.
 
'Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come ’round right.
 
When I revisited my poem, I saw how the words started with my feelings of shame as I described some worn-out parts of my house. It ended with words that led me deeper into the soul(s) residing there.  A spontaneous smile and warmth replaced the shame.  And right here in my house, just as it is, in a neighborhood with “valley” in its name, I discovered love and delight. 

______________________

• Have you ever felt like what you have or who you are is embarrassing or not enough?
• How might you be invited to turn and recognize the gift of simplicity (& the freedom, love, and delight it offers) today?
• How might you be invited to share your "simple gifts" with others?   

This is my in-person Spiritual Direction space. So many people have sat on that couch (it's been with me since my very first directee!) and I've spent many hours reading and listening in my Craigslist-find chair!