08.04.2025. Meeting the All of It
Hello dear Friends,
“Life is Short, Make it Sweet”
–tagline on a box of chocolates
I was off for two weeks, summering. Much happened in those past two weeks—much is always happening in our complicated, gorgeous, messy world. But a few events brought my heart to a tender standstill. Three to share:
The death of two beloved poet-friends, Joanna Macy and spoken-word poet Andrea Gibson (Well, I need to clarify: neither knew me, but I call them ‘friend’ because I carry their voices, words, and hearts with me.) Their poems and presence shifted my insides, like when you take off twisted pantyhose and everything feels right. Space opens, your skin breathes a sigh of relief, and your toes, shins, and even your leg bones are happy to be exposed—happy to live on the edge of naked and vulnerable, happy to let air touch soft and caress you.
Then there are the fires burning the Grand Canyon. This breaks my heart. It's been a month, with 114,000 acres gone—an area three times the size of Washington, D.C. They call it the Dragon Bravo Fire. I wonder why? I read something about a rock formation, but to me, it is a dragon breathing hot, eating forests and leaving charred scars in its path.
And there are so many fires burning: out in the world, and inside our hearts. Our own inner fire element exists in both its warmth and its burning fierceness. On one side, it fuels passion, poetry, and the arts, keeps our bodies warm, aglow. On the other hand, fire in its "too muchness, hot anger" consumes, rages and devours everything in its path, even those you love. But when this vibrant, transparent, ruby-red jeweled energy comes together, it awakens discriminating awareness at the heart center. It fuels love, fuels Metta, fuels soft-heart, and awakens us to "the all of it"—this world so ripe, burning with sweet, tender beauty and raw with pain, heartbreak, and despair. The great meditators and mystics return us to– it is not about 'picking and choosing,' but about being with — allowing "the all of it," and opening.
🌿
PS: See below. Registration is now open for Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's visit to Chicago! Save your spot for "In Beauty and In Sorrow: Writing Poems as a Tool for Meeting the All of It.”
Come join me today —
We will begin our time with a guided meditation on Pain and Discomfort & then move into Metta Meditation Practice.
Drop-in Meditation Monday. All are welcome, no prior experience needed—just bring an open heart.
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Guided & Metta Meditation Practice
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Conversations on the Practice of Meditation
Location: 1765 Glenview Road, Glenview (in the Patio Shops)
Donations are gratefully accepted.
A bow of gratitude we are here together,
Love, Wini
Scroll Below–2 Poems, 1 Quote, 3 Events Not-to-Miss, 1 Closing Song, and goodness between. Made with ♥️.
💌 Know someone who needs a little goodness for their heart? Please share! If this was forwarded to you, subscribe for your own copy
🌸 Two Poems to Share In honor of Joanna Macy & Andrea Gibson.
Go to the Limits of Your Longing | Rainer Maria Rilke (trans by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy, read by Joanna Macy Listen here 1:39 min)
God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.
These are the words we dimly hear:
You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.
Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.
Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.
Give me your hand.
🌿From Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God.
The first time I heard this poem, I wept. A door opened in my heart. Words were given to this voiceless something I had always known, yearned for yet had no words for. There, in this poem, I found prayer, permission, perseverance, the naming of "the all of it"—beauty and terror, the refuge of impermanence, the solace with the Holy—“Give me your hand.” That day I fell in love with Joanna Macy, as teacher and poet. That day, that poem Give Me Your Hand I read in 1997, was the first poem I took to heart, and memorized to the bone.
“Be generous with your strengths and skills. They are not your private property, and they grow from being shared.”
— Joanna Macy (May 2, 1929 – July 19, 2025).
Say Yes | Andrea Gibson
When two violins are placed in a room if a chord on one violin is struck
the other violin will sound the note
If this is your definition of hope
This is for you
The ones who know how powerful we are
Who know we can sound the music in the people around us
simply by playing our own strings
for the ones who sing life into broken wings
open their chests and offer their breath
as wind on a still day when nothing seems to be moving
Spare those intent on proving god is dead.
For you when your fingers are red
from clutching your heart
so it will beat faster
For the time you mastered the art of giving yourself for the sake of someone else
For the ones who have felt what it is to crush the lies
and lift truth so high the steeples bow to the sky
This is for you
This is for the no becoming yes
For scars becoming breath…
📖Continue reading here and 🎥 watch video here (4:31 min)
🌿 There are volumes of beauty to unfold in Andrea Gibson spoken-word poetry. (I have been nestled into their poetry, walking with my headphones on, listening in my car, soaking in her distinct voice, a transmission of stay-with it love).
They speak into—the gorgeousness of listening into the soul, of healing what is real and true, and the never-ending, unfolding petals of the heart. Allowing what is, saying yes to both love and death. And I one more video to share: When Death Comes to Visit (2:59 min)
“We were born astonished and were never intended to grow out of it.”
–Andrea Gibson (August 13, 1975 – July 14, 2025)
🌸 One Quote | Nick Cave
This one caught me heart, I soaked in Nick Cave’s words, in The Red Hand Files ISSUE #331, JULY 2025. A profound read 📖 full answer here
It’s been ten years since your son Arthur died. What have you and Susie learned in those years?
— CARLOS, FLORIANÓPOLIS, BRAZIL
Does the pain last forever?
— EMMA, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
“Dear Carlos and Emma,
The pain remains, but I have found that it evolves over time. Grief blossoms with age, becoming less a personal affront, less a cosmic betrayal, and more…. (Continue here)
To my great surprise, I discovered that I was part of a common human story. I began to recognise the immense value and potential of our humanness while simultaneously acknowledging, at my core, our terrifyingly perilous situation. I learned we all actually die. I realised that although each of us is special and unique, our pain and brokenness is not....Sorrow becomes a way of life, part laughter, part tears, with very little space between. It is a way of conducting oneself in the world, of loving it, of worshipping it.” —Nick Cave
🌸 Exciting News to Share | Rosemary Wahtola Trommer’s Tickets are Live!
“I want a word that means
okay and not okay,
a word that means
devastated and stunned with joy.”
— read full poem For When People Ask
You can now sign up for "In Beauty and In Sorrow: Writing Poems as a Tool for Meeting the All of It," with poet and "heart-tenderer" Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. Saturday, September 27, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Your ticket includes lunch. Three ticket prices are available. To reserve your spot, click here.
“Spending time with Rosemerry is more than just poetry, it is gorgeous heart opening time like no other.”
— xo Wini
There are no words– it's a can't-miss event. Come join me and bring a friend, or two! No writing experience needed–Open to all seekers, meditators, tender-hearted souls, poets, writers, revolutionaries, and light workers.
🌸 Some Spots Still Available | Wini's Fall Retreat–September 11-14, 2025! ✨
Come join me on retreat for a time of inward wam-care and renewal, September 11–14, just 90 minutes north of Chicago at Soulful Prairies. Starting Thursday at 4pm and ending Sunday at 11am, this will be an intimate gathering of women—a space for quiet reflection, sacred sharing, and a chance to simply be together.
“I am so thrilled we have this time to be–
to be in sacred community with women, to deepen in awakening practice and teachings
and to be with our open tender hearts.”
We'll cultivate an open and steady heart by exploring foundational practices of Mindfulness, the Five Elements , and the Six Paramitas. You'll have time for walks in nature, deepening your practice, and blooming a wider perspective. The retreat is designed to help you build skills for working with your mind and taking a good seat within your tender heart. A special Saturday morning session will feature the wisdom of horses, guided by equine gestalt therapist Linda Bruce.
Learn more and reserve your spot here. If your heart says yes but your finances are a concern, reach out to me.
🌸 One More Offering to Know About | It’s Getting Hot In Here
My dear friend Julie Fedeli and her co-author Pam DeRose are hosting another fabulous Midlife Upgrade Event!
When: Tomorrow, August 5th at BIÂN! 5:30 pm -7:30 pm.
A night of beauty, real talk, big laughs and deep connection - and three very special guests…Dr. Sameena Rahman - Super gyno. Bela Gandhi - Love and relationship expert. Tracy Hill - Reignite your spark. Click here to Learn more & Get your ticket!
🌸 Closing Song 🎶 | Hold Down The Fort by Chris Pureka
Oh, I just learned about this songwriter/musician, Chris Pureka, full of a collection of tender and hopeful songs. Read about the writing of this song, this musical collaboration with Andrea Gibson. Read here Andrea Gibson substack Things That Don't Suck, Our Last Conversation Was A Song
🎶 Listen here (3:02 min)
In all Mystical traditions, it is a great practice to close your practice, your day, your sacred offerings with chants and prayers of blessing, gratitude and protection.
“May you unfold the tender petals of your heart,
let your heart petals speak, write, sing, dance, touch.
May you love this world, the all of it —
full of broken tender beauty, holy sorrows and unstoppable joy.
May all beings be safe and protected."
Have a blessed day,
Love, Wini 💖
🌸 Share the Light!
If this Metta Newsletter resonates with you, you have the power to amplify its reach. Will you help spread this tender kindness and care? Share Metta with a friend who could use a dose of sweet goodness in their life.
Help increase more beauty-glow, small donations go along way and help me to continue the Metta Newsletter bloom 🌸 click here Venmo
✨ may we bloom more Light.
💞 may we grow more Goodness for the healing of all.
🌎 may each of us stitch more heart-tenderness into the fabric of our planet.
….Until next week. 💖 ✨
--
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
- Mary Oliver
