Run With The Unexpected

Aryae Coopersmith
224 words, 16K views, 6 comments

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So many portals to you

Hindu, Jew, Sufi, Sikh,

artist, lover, dancer, explorer, peace-warrior.

Children, strangely familiar,

are rushing up to greet and initiate you.

Joyful ravens are singing you

their call and response from scattered trees,

while humming humming birds dart through the bushes below.

A mystic moon facing your face is fading into morning.

Run with the wind into places unknown to you

where fantastic fungi and trembling ferns and wild lilies

are weaving exuberant streams

for you to ride on, into the heart of wildness.

When a too predictable life has become stale and tired:

Run with the unexpected.

Learn the secret.

Keep your promises,

the sacred ones,

to those you love,

those who trust and depend on you,

yourself.

Break your promises,

the other ones,

the habit-threads you’ve woven

into the net that has caught you.

How?

Run with the unexpected!

Aryae Coopersmith co-founded the House of Love and Prayer in 1968 with Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, and is ordained as a Jewish spiritual teacher. He is the author of Holy Beggars.

SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What does running with the unexpected mean to you? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to run with the wind and embrace the unknown? What helps you distinguish between sacred promises and habit-thread promises?

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6 Past Reflections

On May 11, 2021 Barbara wrote :

Thank you for posting this beautiful poem. So much to reflect on and share with others. Running with the unexpected, being open to listening and learning from all my senses. Living with an open heart to help where I can. Everyday is an unknown. Lea red Promises and habit thread promises, I need time to reflect on.â¤ï¸ðŸ™â¤ï¸

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On May 11, 2021 Tyler wrote :

This is so timely and perfect for me! Just last week I was offered an opportunity in another state. It would require a move, living under very different, but wonderful circumstances and challenging every comfort I have come to know in my current life situation. With much consideration by listening to my heart, and not so much my head, I accepted the opportunity. I'm a bit terrified because it doesn't make much sense but I have been convinced by a Force beyond logic to go! This was a beautiful sign the the Universe has sent as a comfort and confirmation. Thank you for this post! "When we come to the end of everything we know, we leap.....". Peace and All Good, Tyler Dawn

1 reply: Jo | Post Your Reply

On May 10, 2021 mamta nanda wrote :

Thank you. Such an inspiring offering, especially for the times when fear of the unknown arises....
The thought of 'Run with thewind into places unknown to you' is very liberating.
The paradox of keeping promises and breaking some helps me when faced with polarities, I trust that my heart will guide me to know which ones I need to remember, which ones to forget and when.....

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On May 9, 2021 David Doane wrote :

For me, running with the unexpected means running with the unknown, doing different than what's always been done before, going outside the box. The unknown is the source of the unexpected, and the source of surprise, freedom, and creativity. The unknown is present and alive. The known is the past and kind of dead. As a psychotherapist, I run with the wind often. It's when I'm in the present, attending to process as it's happening, embracing the unknown and not knowing where we will go, not trying to engineer a particular outcome. My mantra has long been process not outcome. Don't make empty promises that are not kept. Make sacred promises which are sincere, expressed from heart and soul, with real whole person follow through.

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On May 7, 2021 Jagdish P Dave wrote :

This beautiful poem written by AryaeCoopersmithreminds me of a poem I had read a long time ago. It is written in Gujarati, my mother tongue. Who came this morning to wake me up from my deep sleep? The unexpectedvoice startled me and made me realize that I have been walking on the same old path of my life. No wonder why I felt stale and tired and bored. The fresh voice coming from within me made me realize that I was caught up in the habitual nest that I myself had created for quite some time. I was listening to the same oldstory and was singing the same old song.The voice woke ne up and I am eager to listen to a new unexpected voice. I feel asense of thrilling and wonderment and curiosity to hear and see what is coming. A few days ago my daughter, a guest and myself were invited for a dinner at our friends house. I had been to their house three yearsago. Maya, the three years old whom I had seen as little girl was eagerly waiting for me to greet me. In the beginning she was shy. After ... [View Full Comment]