Author Archives: Amy @ Generous Wisdom | Spacious Heart

Amy's work centers around the embodied experience of love's spaciousness and is grounded in brain, body, and heart-based wisdom. She teaches yoga, meditation, & writing as a way to cultivate tender self-love that supports empathy and compassion-driven work in the world. Check out her bio @amysecrist.com.

to be happy with

When my fourth baby is a few months old
I lie with my back on the floor,
fingers reaching one way, toes the other, and the hem of my shirt pulls away from the waistband of my pants.
My three-year-old daughter who kneels beside me asks,
“Why is your belly so wrinkly?”
My immediate shock and surprise fade, and I mentally leap into a readily available pit of despair. Then I offer her a cursory explanation of skin’s elasticity and the effects of multiple pregnancies,
and gravity.
And, as if she hasn’t listened to a word I’ve said,
exclaims,
“It’s Beautiful!”

Indeed.
That fourth little babe is now over a year old
and wouldn’t you know he blows the best raspberries on that wrinkly old skin there ever was.

Peeling Grapes

Who am I

to be blessed with a baby

who loves grapes;

and me, with legs and feet to stand,

hands and fingers to work,

eyes to watch and ears to listen?

The juice runs down between my fingers

as my knife works.  It drips from my wrist onto the white plate

where I wipe the purple skins and quarter the fruit.

Who am I to be blessed with the Time to stand here

peeling grapes?

Good Morning

Every time our baby boy wakes, whether it is 6 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, or 7:45 at night, if our two-year-old is nearby, she all but squeals with delight, “Good Mornin’  Baby!”  She is thrilled that he is present with her, and she runs to him for hugs and kisses.  This is so similar to how I’ve been interacting with God, though I am the one waking.  He stretches himself into my space and I look up.  I don’t necessarily squeal with delight at realizing he is with me, but it is a happy, contented sensation that seeps through all the distraction.  In fact, this awakening component to my relationship with God has been so strong over the last few years that  “Good Morning” almost became the title of this blog.  When God enlightens me, when I remember that he is present, I cannot resist the urge to pray “Good morning, God,” no matter the hour.  It used to seem silly at 11:00 at night, but it works for me.  It is my hello, my acknowledgement of the Lord’s presence in my life.