This is how Chapter 1 of my novel, The Lost Codex of the Christian Heretics. begins with a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Love Poems to God:
“She who reconciles the ill-matched threads of her life
and weaves them gratefully into a single cloth,
it’s she who drives the loudmouths from the hall
and clears it for a different celebration,
where the one guest is you.
And so, this is how I will begin this series of blog posts, which offers Wisdom sayings that have inspired me over the years … and may inspire you, too.
At a recent book signing event, someone asked me how my own life’s journey parallels the journeys of the main characters in The Lost Codex. The journeys of those characters, in turn, parallel certain revelations from The Gnostic Gospels (Wisdom teachings from the time of Christ that were omitted from the Bible for their heretical concepts).
I thought the question was a good one.
For Chapter One, I chose an excerpt (above) from Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, because this sentiment frames the story about to unfold for the readers, just as it frames my ongoing search for the Divine inside me.
It seems to me that we all have some “ill-matched threads” in our lives – broken pieces and parts, failures, losses, regrets. In my case … as with some of the characters of the novel … I had to journey into the past to reconcile mistakes, hurts, confusions.
Best practices: Be brave and forgiving. Replace fear with faith. Choose love. It also helps me to read wisdom and inspiration from authentic sources.
And so I offer Rilke’s beautiful poem in its entirety:
She who reconciles the ill-matched threads
of her life, and weaves them gratefully
into a single cloth—
it’s she who drives the loudmouths from the hall
and clears it for a different celebration
where the one guest is you.
In the softness of evening
it’s you she receives.
You are the partner of her loneliness,
the unspeaking center of her monologues.
With each disclosure you encompass more
and she stretches beyond what limits her,
to hold you.
Sneak Preview: In the next blog installment, explore the ancient Sanskrit saying that begins, “As a bee seeks nectar from all kinds of flowers, seek teachings everywhere…”
Peace and Blessings, Kyla
Kyla Merwin 