splash

Harmony isn’t still water. It’s the wild flow. It’s the moving ripple.

I used to think that 
achieving inner peace 
would make my heart look
like a calm lake

I thought being in 
harmony meant: 

no ripples
no waves
no lapping shores

~ just still water

it turns out that
serenity isn't the absence
of movement

in fact 

~ it's quite 
the opposite

because the more 
peace I feel

the more my heart 
churns and bubbles

like a lake boiling 
as a ribbon of lava breaks through
underneath the water

I don't think we were created
out of nothingness to come
here just to let our hearts become
an unmoving body of cold water
covered in standing algae 

I think the Great Love placed
a fire in us so that our lives will
be a natural spring of swirling 
hot healing water that never
looks the same way twice

the war machine thinks
it is the only thing that can
move and lumber

~ and that's simply not true

peace is the most disturbing
force in the universe

peace is the tide that washes
away the ancient seaweed of 
division that builds upon our shores

peace is anything but still

it's a tsunami that can terraform 
rock fortresses into open-air chapels

my love,

I'm starting to realize
that the less my heart moves

~ the heavier it gets
~ the more dust it collects
~ the less kindness I feel 

but when I let my heart
constantly stir
like a cotton candy machine

~the lighter and 
sweeter it becomes

empathy is an act of chaos

it takes the narcissistic 
scripts we have been given 
and rewrites them into 
a handwritten gospel 
of understanding 

peacefulness is 
anything but still

~ it is pure motion 

peace is the ripple
that starts in the center of my heart
and rushes out through the faucets 
of my eyes, hands and tongue 
out into the world

my love, 

ripples 
are remarkable 

because 
we aren't here 
to be stagnant 

we are here to make a splash

~ john roedel

(art: Ryann Carey Paintings)

---

COME MAKE A SPLASH WITH ME THIS YEAR!!

Are you ready to let the words trapped inside of you out? Is this the year that you allow the story buried deep inside to start to emerge?

I bet it is. Just yesterday, I heard a rumor from a passing sunbeam that YOUR heart is waiting for you to come and explore it.

Consider this your personal invitation to come and join a community of Unafraid storytellers. ❤️

I have writing retreats/events being set up all across the country up as well as a couple opportunities in Italy next Fall!

New Mexico

North Carolina

New York

California

Colorado

Wisconsin

I am coming your way!

I have some new online opportunities just announced as well! Come listen and write down the lyrics to the music of your life at one of my events next year!

Follow the button below to see if something I’m offering meets you where you are right now. This is your year to lean into your authentic voice! I promise you that you won’t regret it!