Become the Sky

By Steve Taylor

This cage you’ve been trapped inside
for longer than you can remember
might seem so sturdy and secure
that you don’t even dream of escaping anymore
like a bird that used to beat its wings
but now just lets them hang limply by its sides.

But the bars of your cage aren’t solid.
They’re a mirage made up of fears and desires
projected by your restless mind
fueled by the attention you give them.

Just for a moment let your mind be quiet
and see how fears evaporate
see how desires withdraw
like the claws of an animal
that’s no longer threatened.

Watch the bars melt away
and let the world immerse you.

Let your mind-space merge with the space out there
until there is only space without distinction –
stretch your wings and become the sky.

– Steve Taylor
From The Calm Center: Reflections and
Meditations for Spiritual Awakening
New World Library, 2015
p. 12

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• The Smile
• “Window, Mind, Thought, Air and Love”
• Until the Light Returns
• What the Wind Says
• Secret Language of the Heart
• Kahlil Gibran on Self-Knowledge
• Jesus and the Art of Letting Go
• Surrendering in Sacred Trust
• I Surrender to You
• The Act of Surrender
• You Are My Goal, Beloved One
• Love’s the Only Dance
• Sweet Surrender
• Saved Me
• Learning to Fly
• “And Still We Rise!” – Part 1 | Part 2

Image: Artist unknown.