I have been re-reading one of my favorite classical pieces of literature written by one of my favorite authors/poets Emily Bronte. Can you guess which of her works, written in her far too short a life span I so enjoy? Yep, Wuthering Heights but then, sadly, it was her only novel which she initially had to write under a masculine pseudonym. Ever since I first picked up her novel at the wise old age of 8, I have been in love with Emily's writings and of those of her sisters Charlotte and Anne. Oft times, in my turbulent teenage years, I felt a close kinship with this talented women.
Emily Bronte has become mythologized both as an individual and as one of the Bronte sisters. She has been cast as Absolute Individual, as Tormented Genius, and as Free Spirit Communing with Nature; the trio of sisters–Charlotte, Emily, and Anne–have been fashioned into Romantic Rebels, as well as Solitary Geniuses. However, although, I love her novel and will probably read it again several times throughout my remaining years, it is her poetry that I cling to and most admire. Her poem "No Coward's Soul is Mine" (also her last poem) it etched permanently in my own heart and sees me through many a difficult time... as fear has often been my constant companion.
No coward soul is mine,
No trembler in the worlds storm-troubled sphere:
I see Heavens glories shine,
And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.
O God within my breast.
Almighty, ever-present Deity!
Life -- that in me has rest,
As I -- Undying Life -- have power in Thee!
Vain are the thousand creeds
That move mens hearts: unutterably vain;
Worthless as withered weeds,
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,
To waken doubt in one
Holding so fast by Thine infinity;
So surely anchored on
The steadfast Rock of immortality.
With wide-embracing love
Thy Spirit animates eternal years,
Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.
Though earth and man were gone,
And suns and universes ceased to be,
And Thou wert left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou -- Thou art Being and Breath,
And what Thou art may never be destroyed.
Emily Bronte, as do we all, knew dark moments, but in that darkness she had learned to trust a Power greater than her own and to understand that power would never leave her. This universal Love was so transformative that she wrote to her sister, Charlotte, that "it changes, sustains, dissolves, creates and rears as it leads." This steadfast Love/Faith endowed her with courage and confidence as her singular great novel was rejected by one publisher after another. It saw her through as she was rejected by father, aunt, brother... and finally by life itself.
Life can be quite the adversary can't it? However it is also exciting, exacting, beautiful and wonderfilled and it is in constant change. Love and faith are often times the only constant particularly when days are filled with doubt and fear. Love and faith will transform your life in countless ways. Family and friends may not notice the changes initially or, may in fact, not even like them... however you will know, deep within, that miracles are taking place. Growth and miracles.
Love sustains me and you when passion's path takes unexpected twists and turns. Love will dissolve your fears by creating opportunities you could not have imagined before you began the search to discover and recover your own true self. Then, when doubt, despair, and denial threaten to dismantle your dreams, as it has done to me so often, but particularly over these last 8 months with the loss of my beloved Granddaughter (removed from my life by ignorance),Love still comes to my defense. It is during these moments when I feel most frightened and alone and fragile that I become very still and let Love guide me.
Try it the next time you feel frightened and fragile. Still your mind and become motionless and, if you do, you might feel the tip of an angel's wing brush against your shoulder.
Emily Bronte was so right.. No Coward's Soul Is Mine. Reluctantly but gratefully, I have come to realize that this feeling of fear that has always been my constant companion, is God's way of telling me to ask for grace and Power. So join me as I take a deep breath, seek my quiet center, and push on. One of the hardest lessons I have yet to master is accepting that all fear comes from within however major are the real life's problems assaulting me.
Sometimes, the closer we get to giving our dream to the world, the harder the struggle becomes to bring it forth. I wonder why this is so? Perhaps it is because we know that we will be permanently changed. That life can never return to the way it once was. No wonder I (and your dear reader) asre scared; we wouldn't be sane if we were not.
Oh but how many glorious, exquisite dreams has Heaven mourned because the dreamer, weary, discouraged, despairing, relied only on his or her own strength and could do no more?
Today, as fear once again tries to overwhelm me, I will remember that courage is fear that has said her prayers. Dreams are gifts sent by the Universe to alter us. Trust that this same great Power that gifted you with your dreams, passions, and love will help you make them all come true.
"I've dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas. They've gone through and through me like wine through water and altered the color of my mind." Amen Emily Bronte. Amen.
