Big news!  I’ve launched a new website to integrate my writing, work, and news about upcoming programs and events. Visit me over there at mabethhudson.com. It’s evolving and growing just like you and me!

You are getting a sneak peek at my inaugural newsletter: “MUSING with Mabeth.” To muse is to meditate, ponder, reflect, or contemplate. Each month, I will invite you to muse along with me on a topic that aims to nurture our souls and spirits and support our spiritual well-being.  

Since April is National Poetry Month, let’s explore poetry as a way to care for our souls.  

APRIL 2025: POETRY FOR THE SOUL  

I’m a newly hatched poet, slowly opening my eyes to the intriguing power of poetry.  

Perhaps you, like me, have an ambivalent relationship with poetry. For much of my life, I found poetry to be impractical, inaccessible, intimidating, and slightly baffling.  My logical brain was dismissive of poetry, believing it was only for others more literary.  

But as I’ve grown, I’ve discovered poems, both ancient and contemporary, that have touched me deeply, providing vital nourishment for my soul. Poetry can shift me from my head to heart, awakening me to my connection to others, creation, God, and myself. It slows my rapid mind and anchors me in the present moment. Poems can provide a nest in which I pause to reconnect with Love that is always here.  

My interest was sparked by the poems of Mary Oliver (1935-2019). Her relationship with the natural world nudged me to pay attention to life around me in a new way. Poems such as “The Journey,” “Praying,” and “We Shake with Joy” have illuminated the spiritual path, providing just the light I needed at given points in my life. Her simple words, extracted from the poem “Sometimes,” inspire me daily:  

Instructions for life: 

Pay Attention. 

Be astonished. 

Tell about it. 

Poetry has the potential to uplift, encourage, connect, and heal us. As Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby Wilson wrote in Poetry of Presence II, poems “soothe our anxieties and self-doubt, restore our balance, boost our energy and strength, help us cope with stress” and “crack open the tough stuff and spill out the light.”  We realize we are not alone.  

Whether it be through reading and reflecting on poems or creating them, poetry can be a balm to the soul.  

In a group setting such as a meeting, workshop, or gathering, poems can center and connect us, uniting us into the present moment. When I lead workshops or small groups, I often begin by asking people to take a few deep breaths, and then I slowly read a poem that touches on the theme for the gathering. The images and words generally lead people to become more relaxed and receptive. A carefully chosen poem creates an environment of warmth and connection. 

I’m amazed at how many friends write poetry as part of their spiritual journey. One told me his poems tend to be questions or observations that stir his soul, in the way the wind stirs a pile of fall leaves, and he’s led into a conversation with God. Another shared that poetry transports her to a place she can’t get to by herself. Some write poems as a gift for their loved ones as a tribute or as a way of distilling memories to pass along to future generations. 

Award-winning poet and friend Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer has been writing a poem a day for almost twenty years, a writing practice that she says has changed the way she moves through her day. She’s more attentive, mindful, and able to hold life’s paradoxes of light and darkness. Then, she’s generous enough to share them with the world through her website! 

Rosemerry is so devoted to poetry as a spiritual practice that she guides and encourages many newly budding poets, including me. In her classes she often asks us to introduce ourselves by sharing one small thing that we noticed that day—something that caught our attention or a moment that stood out. That noticing often opens the door to my writing. One day I wrote a short, funny poem about the bruised bananas sitting on the kitchen counter! 

Another practice for the soul is to read poems as if it they were a gift from the Divine. In February, I often lead a program titled “Love Poems from God,” inspired by Daniel Ladinsky’s book by the same name. We reflect upon poems from across time and traditions that open our hearts to the Source of Love (a name for God) that is always here. It is a time of unexpected, precious revelations of loving and being loved.   

Friends, here’s an invitation to muse. Select a poem from a favorite source or from the resources provided below and try this:  

• Read your poem slowly three times, paying attention to the words or images that resonate or tug at you. Let those words or images wash over you and linger in your soul.  

• What aspects of love are you being invited to notice or to experience? How does your poem speak to what is happening in your life today?   

• What is your response to your poem?  Have a silent conversation with God, your Higher Power, or your beloved self. You may wish to respond in a journal with words or images. 

Whatever your relationship with poetry may be, I hope that it can be a companion for you. Consider going deeper with the resources I’ve provided below. May you discover poetry that nurtures your soul and spirit! 

With love, 

Mabeth 

UPCOMING PROGRAMS AND EVENTS 

Conscious & Contemplative Aging: Sat. Apr. 26 (9:30 am – 4:00 pm) in person at Well for the Journey in Lutherville, MD. Shift from your consciousness about aging from self-limitation, isolation, anxiety, and fear towards expansiveness, wholeness, connection, and compassion. We’ll begin our time with a poem called “The Layers” by Stanley Kunitz who lived to be over 100 years old.  Learn more & Register at Well for the Journey. Click here.  

Bloom Into Summer: Reset + Renew Your Body, Mind and Spirit Retreat Day: Sat. June 14, 10 am – 3 pm on Delight Farm in Sparks, MD. Reconnect with joy, wonder, and play and set intentions for the summer. Learn & Register at Well for the Journey. Learn more and register  at Well for the Journey. Click here.  

GOING DEEPER WITH POETRY 

Poetry preferences can be quite personal, but if you are looking for resources to nurture your soul and spirit, I’ve listed some of my favorites below.  Most of them are collections of poems from various writers, offering numerous opportunities to find some that resonate with you.  

All the Honey, by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer- includes meeting the light and darkness following her son’s heartbreaking death.   

Devotions: Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver- contains many of her most popular poems from decades of writing, including the poems I referenced in this newsletter.  

Love Poems from God, collection translated by Daniel Ladinsky. 

Poetry of Presence II: More Mindfulness Poems, collection edited by Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby R Wilson.  

The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks. 

The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy, collection edited by James Crews.