Wholly Mindful
  • classes & private sessions
    • Parent-Child Self-Compassion Class
    • Parent-Teen Self-Compassion (MSC-T)
    • Compassionate Parenting
    • Mindful Self-Compassion
    • The Path to Resilience
    • Mindful Yoga
    • Parent-Teen Self-Compassion Workshop
    • Private sessions
  • Train to teach
    • Self-Compassion for Children and Caregivers Instructor Training
    • Self-Compassion in the Classroom
  • Testimonials
  • About us
    • Jamie Lynn's story and Training
    • Contact us
    • Donate
  • Blog
  • Meditations, Videos and more
    • Videos and Lessons
    • Guided Meditations
    • Quotes and Poems
    • Journaling Challenge

Start close in

By David Whyte

Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way of starting
the conversation.

Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them
smother something
simple.

To find
another’s voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes a
private ear
listening
to another.

Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow
someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake
that other
for your own.

Start close in,
don’t take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.
Picture
© 2022 Wholly Mindful LLC. All Rights Reserved.
  • classes & private sessions
    • Parent-Child Self-Compassion Class
    • Parent-Teen Self-Compassion (MSC-T)
    • Compassionate Parenting
    • Mindful Self-Compassion
    • The Path to Resilience
    • Mindful Yoga
    • Parent-Teen Self-Compassion Workshop
    • Private sessions
  • Train to teach
    • Self-Compassion for Children and Caregivers Instructor Training
    • Self-Compassion in the Classroom
  • Testimonials
  • About us
    • Jamie Lynn's story and Training
    • Contact us
    • Donate
  • Blog
  • Meditations, Videos and more
    • Videos and Lessons
    • Guided Meditations
    • Quotes and Poems
    • Journaling Challenge