When the Heart Waits

" They seemed to speak for all the unlived parts of me, and they came with a force and dazzle that I couldn't contain. They seemed to explode the boundaries of my existence. I know now that they were the clamor of a new self struggling to be born." Sue Monk Kidd

These are some of the first words I read in the book. In the second paragraph to be exact. I was hooked. This is the first time I ever read  a book and by the second page tears were welling up in my eyes.

Yes, I lean toward the dramatic. A tortured, creative soul, if you must know.

One of my dear coworkers/friend loaned this book to me. About a week or so ago, she and I had a heart-to-heart about life. It was one of those moments when someone asks, "How are you?" and then you actually tell them the truth.

The next day, as I was running to my office for a meeting - she ran up behind me and said, "Last night I was thinking about you, and I knew you needed to read this book." I thanked her, took the book, and just put it in my bag. She told me it was by the same author who wrote "The Secret Life of Bees", which I thought was an amazing story and even more amazing film.

So last night, I cracked it open. Amazed! So much so, that I think I am going to return the book to her, and purchase my own. I want to take notes.. it's THAT GOOD.

So what is it about? Here is what the back of the book says:

Blending her own experiences with an intimate grasp of spirituality, Sue Monk Kidd relates the passionate and moving tale of her spiritual crisis, when life seemed to have lost meaning and her longing for a hasty escape from pain yielded to a discipline of "active waiting."

Here are some of the chapters:
Part 1
Waiting and Transformation
Ch.1 - The Way Round
Ch.2 Quickaholic Spirituality
Ch.3 - From False Self to True Self

Part 2
Passage to Separation
Ch. 4. Crisis to Opportunity
Ch. 5 Letting Go

Part 3
Passage to Transformation
Ch.6 Concentrated Stillness
Ch.7 Incubating the Darkness

Part 4
Passage of Emergence
Ch.8 Unfurling New Wings

How cool is that?

I will leave you with one more paragraph from the book - this is where I left off last night, on page 13:

"That was the moment the knowledge descended into my heart and I understood. Really Understood. Crisis. change, all the myriad upheaval that blister the spirit and leave us groping - they aren't voices simply of pain but also of creativity. And if we would only listen, we might hear such times beckoning us to a season of waiting, to the place of fertile emptiness.

I turned from the window, quickened by the moment. I knew. Dear God, I knew. I must enter the chrysalis."