A poem for when you’re feeling a new life rising from within…✨
What if she’s really that good
That powerful
That smart
So much so that in her heart
She knows
And though she struggles to show it
She feels it growing within
Rising within
Ready for her to start
Her new life rising
©Ashley Castle Barnes ~ Cat Lady Poet
What new life is taking shape within you? 🌱
A poem for when you’re feeling lost…✨
What if the path she treads
is not something she can forge
with bare and calloused feet alone,
but rather from the tremulous yet essential steps
she takes in her mind?
What if the rotten and worthy debris
she must clear to make her way forward
doesn’t fall from any tree whose furrowed bark
she holds in outstretched hands,
but rather from the dense and daring forest inside?
What if the path she sees before her isn’t real,
disappearing like a mirage shimmering in the desert,
crumbling like sand between her trembling fingers,
until it’s created by her world within?
©Ashley Castle Barnes ~ Cat Lady Poet
The path to our dreams begins with the connection to our inner world. ✨
A poem for when you’re feeling unseen…✨
It’s ok that she’s late
It’s ok that she’s still learning
Still trying, not giving up
She blooms in her own time
She grows in her own mind
Even if no one else sees her
She’s becoming herself from the inside out
©Ashley Castle Barnes ~ Cat Lady Poet
In a world that sometimes overlooks your brilliance, remember you shine from within. ✨
A poem for when you’re feeling the truth inside can no longer be contained…✨
What’s if she can’t hide it
What if slips out
Between the cracks stuffed with love
And good intentions
What if she tries to gather it back to her
But in her arms it writhes and gasps
Longing to be free?
©Ashley Castle Barnes ~ Cat Lady Poet
What truth is inside you that longs to be free? ✨
What is it that makes her feel
Wild and empowered
Flowering and free
Dreaming and determined
Flowing like a river within
Do more of that
Do more of that
©Ashley Castle Barnes
She responds
To the world around her
And the world inside her,
Turning and returning
To the dark waters which flow
and churn,
Dredging up the soft spaces within,
Polishing the soft stones on which she stands
©Ashley Castle Barnes
As she delves into the depths
Of the waves that crashed her
To the shore
She can’t help but notice
Below the surface
A calming space which calls to her
Inviting her
To go ever deeper
And explore what has not yet
Been found
©Ashley Castle Barnes
There is often so much under the surface yet to be explored.
We spend our days facing outward, focusing outward, figuring out and navigating our external worlds.
Ignoring or avoiding what’s inside.
We’re busy, yes. But are we really too busy to take the time to go inward?
Or do we not want to?
I can say from experience that inner exploration is not for the faint of heart.
It sometimes feels like drowning.
But in that space, if we can get past the fear, there is calm. Peace. A gentle knowing that we don’t find in the external world.
What are you exploring under the surface today?
Who is she
Waltzing in her yellow coat,
Pretending it’s not raining,
Drawing on sunshine
From within
To lighten and brighten
Her days
©Ashley Castle Barnes
When we make the time and commitment to do our inner work, we create a new perspective for ourselves.
We may see the gray skies and no longer lament the rain.
We may decide that dancing in the rain is perfectly acceptable thing to do.
We may find sunshine and warm in the most mundane or obscure things – most especially from within our own selves.
That’s where the magic is anyway.
How are you finding light from within today?
Cat Lady Poet 