The Ripple Path

Life moves in circles,
well at least that’s how I see it,
soft as rings on still water,
each moment touching the next before we even notice.
We rush,
we lean forward,
chasing days that aren’t ready for us,
forgetting the quiet choreography
that brought us to this one.
But healing has its own tempo.
It asks us to pause,
to breathe in the hush between heartbeats,
to listen to the earth
and the way it hums beneath everything.
Outside, nature keeps reminding me;
Nothing blooms by hurrying.
Trees don’t measure their worth
in the speed of their growing,
and rivers don’t apologise
for taking the long way home.
And here I am,
recovering,
held gently in this “in-between”
while my partner moves softly around me,
their care being a gentle reminder that I need to slow down.
In this stillness,
I see the ripples backwards,
every choice, every chance,
every stumble and grace
leading to this moment
where I sit, and write, and breathe,
finally awake to the simple truth:
Life is not a race,
but a widening circle.
And everything that touched us
has carried us here
so we could finally notice
how beautiful it all is
when we let it be slow.