Embers de Richard Wagamese

 The words in this book are Amber's from the tribal fires that used to burn in our villages.
 They are embers from the spiritual fires burning in the hearts, minds and souls of great writers on healing and love.
 They are embers from every story I have ever heard. 
They are embers from all the relationships that have sustained and defined me. They are heart songs.
 And, shared with you, they become honor songs for the ritual ways that spawned them. 
Bring these words into your life. Feel them. Sit with them. Use them. 

For this is morning, excellent and fair...

Tous les matins, Richard Wagamese commençait sa journée en s'adonnant au rituel de la méditation : quelques herbes brûlées et un temps à lui après lequel il jetait sur le papier ses réflexions du jour dont ce livre est le recueil. Un ouvrage composé de textes courts regroupés sous sept thèmes : calme (stillness), harmonie (harmony), confiance (trust), respect (reverence), persévérance (persistence), gratitude (gratitude) et joie (joy).

Sur chaque page, quelques lignes chargées de sens et de sagesse ne formant souvent qu'un paragraphe, parfois un dialogue avec une vieille femme ou un vieil homme, guides spirituels de Richard Wagamese, absents mais si présents, d'autres fois encore, des souvenirs revisités.

Un vagabondage intime et spirituel de la plume et de l'esprit, celui d'un être qui s'est trouvé et se recentre chaque matin dans ce rituel pour accueillir le jour, le monde, s'y immerger et s'en émerveiller. Un cheminement personnel à valeur universelle qui nous est offert en partage, à lire une fois, ou deux, ou trois, en picorant ou d'une traite selon les envies, maintenant ou plus tard pour y revenir, de ci, de là.

À un moment où il m'était difficile de me plonger dans un roman, j'ai particulièrement apprécié de pouvoir "grappiller" chaque jour quelques lignes de réflexions quotidiennes nourrissantes grâce à cet auteur canadien, malheureusement trop peu traduit en français, dont j'avais découvert le talent dans Jeu blanc / Indian Horse.

À découvrir, à méditer, à apprécier.

Dédicace spéciale de cette revue à Mouna Yoga qui nous a offert un temps de méditation quotidien pendant le confinement covid19. Il émane de son blog magnifique le même type d'énergie que j'ai trouvé dans ce livre. Merci Mouna Yoga / Réflections on my yoga journey.

Tirés du livre :

 There is such a powerful eloquence in silence. True genius is knowing when to say nothing, to allow the experience, the moment itself, to carry the message, to say what needs to be said. Words are less important, less effective than feelings. When you can sit in perfect silence with someone, you truly know how to communicate. 

Nothing in the universe ever grew outside in. 

The sound of silence. The sound of self emerging. 

Stillness is more enriching than motion, listening is more empowering than distraction
 and slow, measured steps feel more graceful than speed. 

To breath is to take in the wind of all breath. To exhale slowly is to open myself and glide over everything. 

Love is the energy of Creation (...) it takes love to create love. 

Returning is a wonderful thing when great friends are involved. Years dissolve and time is irrelevant in the light of true reunion. It means to become one again. It means to be joined. It means to be one spirit, one energy, one song. It means to be returned to the balance you find when friendship are struck - and the entryway is a hug. 

There are a thousand ways to say "no", "but", "I can't", "it's impossible", "it's too late", but there's only one wat to say "yes". With your whole being. When you do that, when you choose that word, it becomes the most spiritual word in the universe... And your world can change.

Remember to remember.

What's needed are eyes that focus with the soul. What's needed are spirits open to everything. What's needed are the belief that wonder is the glue of the universe and the desire to seek more of it. Be filled with wonder. 

Me : You always repeat things three times. 

Old woman : Just the important things. 

Me : Why? I hear you the first time. 

Old woman : No. You listen the first time. You hear the second time. And you feel the third time. 

Me : I don't get it. 

Old woman : When you listen, you become aware. That's for your head. When you hear, you awaken. That's for your heart. When you feel, it becomes a part of you. Three times. It's so you learn to listen with your whole being. That's how you learn

Knowledge is not wisdom. But wisdom is knowledge in action. 

Deciding is not doing and wanting is not choosing. 

Happiness is an emotion that's a result of circumstances. Joy though, is a spiritual engagement with the world based on gratitude. It's not the big things that make me grateful and bring me joy. It's more the glory of the small : a touch, a smile, a kind word spoken or received, that first morning hug, the sound of friend talking in our home (...)

Can you think of a better way to live than in gratitude? Can you think of a better way to be than to be kind, compassionate, respectful, courageous, truthful, and forgiving? Even if we're wrong, can you think of a better way to breathe than through all that? 

Missing someone is feeling a piece of your heart gone as try. Sure, it keeps beating, and sure, you keep breathing, but there is a gap in the rhythm of it, and in the rhythm of the everyday things around you. You seem to move a little less gracefully. But you still move, and that's the critical thing. Because missing someone doesn't mean things grind to a halt. Instead, it means you live out of gratitude for the gift of their presence in your life. You live to keep experiencing, to keep confronting life head-on, so that your return allows you to reunite with them as more human, more alive, more real.

Du même auteur, voir aussi :
Jeu blanc /IIndian Horse

Titre original : Embers, one Ojibway'sMeditation
Pas de traduction française
Auteur : Richard Wagamese
Première édition : 2016