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Dawna Mark ova

SACH  Soundings
 No 12 December 2002

Page 4

You must read 
Dawna Markova

You may be interested in a poem cited by Richard Holloway in a very stimulating talk he gave in Glasgow recently on "The Insane Mercy of God".

I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance,
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.

An Excerpt from
I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion
by Dawna Markova

This poem by Dawna Markova became an Internet phenomenon and inspired people around the world. It's a marvellous expression of the spiritual practice of zeal - especially when you consider her life experience. She is no stranger to suffering, pain, and loss; she makes references to her rape, five miscarriages, and twenty years of living with cancer.
Dawna Markova is the CEO of Professional Thinking Partners, Inc., co-founder of the Worldwide Women's Web, and author of No Enemies Within. The theme of this very ardent personal work is zeal or, as the author, defines it "the choice to be living fully awake and passionately alive”.
Rage, denial, inertia, and loss can be seen as blockages to a life of purpose and passion. Markova reframes this when she writes: "Befriending myself seems to be about opening my heart as a homeless shelter for all the destituted and prostituted aspects of my being that I have been running from for years without even knowing that's what I have been doing."
This inspirational work begins with a poem she wrote that became an Internet phenomenon and inspired freedom fighters in South Africa. The book ends on a high note with her motto LIVE: " 'L' stands for the question, 'What do I love?' 'I' represents 'What are my inner gifts and talents?' 'V' equals 'What do I value?' And 'E' means 'What are the environments that bring out the best in me?' " For Markova and for all seekers of meaning in the midst of life, questions are always stout-hearted companions for the journey.

Those who have access to the internet should have a look at the Spirituality and Health web site and in particular of the soulboosters section
www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/lists/pta_soulbooster.html
and the New Dimensions web site
www.newdimensions.org/article/markova.html

also check out

www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/soulbooster/item_569.html
www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/lists/pthp_soulbooster_40.html
www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/home/item_216.html
www.newdimensions.org/article/markova.html

Book details:
I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion
Dawna Markova
Conari Press 10/00 Paperback $13.95
ISBN 1-57324-101-6

Fergus MacLachlan
Chaplain at Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Greenock

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