UPLIFT Poetry & Stories

With Love - Recited by Chandra Levy

Chandra reflects on being fully present with love, embracing both acceptance and release while trusting life’s unfolding path. She describes letting go of fear and expectations, reconnecting with inner truth and creativity, and recognizing a deeper unity and inspiration flowing through all things.With Love
With Love, right nowBreathing in and breathing outAccepting and releasingEmbracing and letting goTrusting it to unfoldAllowing the story that wants to be told
Gracefully walking through every momentWithin my physical being, I am gently presentDancing my dance and singing my songFinding my way to here, where I belong
Breaking free from the moldThe expectations that we holdLet my heart reveal the lightMay the true path be ever bright
Fear and doubts they melt awayWith curiosity, we start to playCelebrating the reality of our connectionThat we glimpse in every reflection
With humility and gratitudeI witness that all is imbuedWith the electrical pulse of inspirationFrom the Source of creation
Weaving waves of frequenciesPresenting endless possibilitiesWith the faith we cannot loseWe have simply to choose
With LoveRight Now

From The Darkness Comes The Dawn - Recited by Laura Targett

In this reflection, Laura recounts her personal journey through a profound psychological and physical collapse marked by anxiety, fear, and loss of ordinary functioning, which culminates in a powerful inner vision urging her to walk through the storm rather than flee it. By taking small, compassionate steps toward life and facing rather than resisting her fears and feelings, the experience gradually transforms from a breakdown into an initiation marked by healing, meaning, and renewed connection to life. Her story reassures us that even the darkest inner nights can yield growth, wisdom, and an eventual dawn.
From The Darkness Comes The Dawn by Laura Targett
The contemporary hero’s journey isn’t fought on battlefields,but is often an inner journey through a long dark stormy night.
This is my own tale of my soul’s initiation through the storm.
I share this story in the spirit of opennessand for anyone walking through something similar,you are not alone.
Many years ago, I went through a life-altering collapsethat became ultimately a journey of transformation.
It began quietly,a slow unraveling from the inside after years of avoiding feeling my feelingsand isolating myself in all sorts of ways.
I didn’t notice how exhaustion and stress accompanied every waking houruntil everything in me started to crumble.
Sleep vanished, anxiety and panic became constant companions.I lost the will to eat and my psyche became an unfamiliar place haunted by fear and confusion.
Eventually, my body also gave inand I hit rock bottom.
I remember shaking, trembling, so very weak,unable to function and full of mind-scrambling fear.
As I descended to that rock bottom place,I lost ordinary consciousness and entered into a vision.
I was running backwards from the most terrifying, shadowy, overwhelming stormfull of disembodied voices and threats of total annihilation.
I backed myself into a corner.There was nowhere else to run, nowhere to hide.
Then a gentle and kind voice spoke clearly in my vision and told me,Walk through the storm, there will be sunshine on the other side.
My consciousness swam back up into the waking worldto see my dear carers with tears in their eyes readying to take me to hospital.
But I stood up, shakily, and holding the arm of my partner,I took a few steps.I imagined each step as a step through the storm.
Each day I took one small step,eating a little, walking a few meters, watching the sun rise,listening to the wind in the trees and the humming of the bees.
Each step a huge and at times exhausting effort of willpower,but each step a commitment to life.
So I began to ascend and I walked through my storm.And little by little, light began to return.
Birdsong sounded like birdsong again.The yellow of the wattle blossoms looked like sunshine rather than sorrow.
Healing wasn’t a straight line.There were times of anger, grief, frustration.
But gradually I stopped fighting the shadows.
I faced my fears and felt my feelings and when I turned towards them instead of running awayand met them with compassion instead of fear, they softened.
I realized that what I had lived through was not just a breakdown butan initiation.
The myths and fairy tales I loved as a child came back to life in mebecause we are all heroes meeting the dragons, living our personal hero’s journeys.
If I had to choose, I’d still walk through that storm again because it brought me home to myself.
It taught me courage, acceptance, compassionand more gratitude for life than I could ever imagine.
So, to anyone finding their way through their own dark night, whatever the circumstances,know there are treasures to be found in the caves of the long dark night and the dawn always comes.

Breath by Breath - Recited by Chandra Levy

Chandra invites a journey of self-discovery through vulnerability, not knowing, and letting go of identities and expectations to uncover one’s true, authentic self. Through breath, acceptance, and simplicity, layers of illusion fall away, revealing an interconnected inner light.
Breath by Breath
Let us meet beyond the storyIn the field where we are free
I know naught a thing about theesave that thee and me be
Find comfort in not knowingwith my vulnerability showing
To be real is to be free
I choose to be the real me
How to find the real mebeyond the image or the pressurewith no need to entertain or to maintainan acquired name
Show me now the way to get therethrough the veils of disenchantment
Beyond the realm of wishful thinkingthrough the mire of disappointment
Breath by breaththe way is clearedwhen simplicity is revered
Acceptance calms the fear, pure intention draws us near
The layers gently they are peeledFalling away as they are healed
The inner core of light revealedAll is connected within the field

The Story Of Humanity Is Us - Recited by David Brand

Humanity’s story is not predetermined but continuously created through our choices, with each act of love, compassion, and courage shaping a path toward peace and unity. By consciously choosing these qualities, we can transform our shared narrative from one of division into one of healing, awakening, and connection.
The Story Of Humanity Is Us
The story of humanity, our story, is still forming.
No page already written, no script we are bound to follow.
We are not only witnesses to history,we are its authors, shaping the sentences with each act of kindness,each decision to extend compassion,each act of love, each refusalto let fear be the final word.
Peace does not arrive as a set narrative from the beyond.
Peace emerges when we choose to pause, to listen,to meet ourselves and every personwith dignity and love.
Love does not wait at the end of the story,but in every chapter we choose to write now,with clear intention as the inkand steady focus as the pen.
If enough of us commit to peace and love,we will bend the arc of our shared narrativetowards healing, towards unity,towards the simple truth that we belong to one another.
Then, the story of humanity will not be oneof fracture, loss, and separation,but of awakening and reconnection.
The power to birth a new story has always been right here, right now,in the intentions that I, you, we dare to hold; in the choices that I, you, we passionately make; in the courage to live into being a breathtaking, inspiring storythat is worthy of who we truly are.

I Thought I Had to Die to Experience Everlasting Peace - Recited by David Brand

Through this poetic reflection, David shares his realization that peace is not something to be found after death or through escape, but is present within himself in the here and now. True peace arises from being fully present rather than running from oneself.
I Thought I Had to Die to Experience Everlasting Peace by David Brand
For so long,I believe peace waited for me,after the struggle, after my end.
I imagined peace as a distant shore,earned after leaving everything behind.
But I was mistaken.
I do not have to vanish to be free.Peace is not hidden on the other side of my ending.
It is not waiting beyond my last breath, or stitched into my passing.
Peace is not the reward for suffering.It is not the mercy of the grave.
Peace did not ask me to vanish.It did not demand my absence.It waited quietly in the spaceI had never thought to enter… within.
Not in escape, but in arrival.Not in the falling away, but in being fully here.
When I stopped trying to disappear,when I sat still enough to feel the breaththat keeps me tethered, there it was.
Everlasting peace was never elsewhere.It had been breathing with me all along.
It lives now,in the pause between thoughts,in the warmth of my body,in the way nature plays.
I do not need to escape this lifeto find stillness.
I only need to stop running from myself,to sit,to notice,to let the noise pass through without answering it.
Peace is not in death.
It is in presence.And it is mine,always here, always now.

The Song Of The Cicadas - Recited by Chandra Levy

Chandra shares her poetic reflection on nature’s harmonies, celebrating the cicadas’ song as a connection to Mother Earth that realigns body, heart, and mind. It emphasizes the joy and simplicity found in natural sounds, breezes, and birdsong, while expressing gratitude and reverence for the beauty and gifts of the world around us.
The Song of the Cicadas
Hear the cicadas sing their songabout the place where we belong. They sing the song of Mother Earthand share the notes of our new birth.
A gift to realignour body heart and mind.The vibration tunes us inwhen we listen from within.
A special key that helps refineour inner recognition of divine,vibrating particles of beingthat opens up our seeing.
Such simplicity is foundon the wave of pure sound.“Ride it joyfully with me,”sings the Earth in harmony.
Her delight at being heardis in the song of every bird, every breeze a sweet caressthat has me bursting in my chest.
Creating beauty for my eyes,every glance a new surprise. May we tend you with true care, blessed and grateful for all you share.

Laura's Story - Recited by Laura Targett

In this reflection, Laura recounts her personal journey through a profound psychological and physical collapse marked by anxiety, fear, and loss of ordinary functioning, which culminates in a powerful inner vision urging her to walk through the storm rather than flee it. By taking small, compassionate steps toward life and facing rather than resisting her fears and feelings, the experience gradually transforms from a breakdown into an initiation marked by healing, meaning, and renewed connection to life. Her story reassures us that even the darkest inner nights can yield growth, wisdom, and an eventual dawn.
Laura's StoryWhat is joy?
You know, that state of effervescent humming happinessthat permeates our whole beingand radiates out with a kind ofglowing brightness in times of delight?
What is it really?
Is it simply an emotional responseto good things happening in our lives?
But why then can many livein a state of great fortune, great privilege,but not always feel joy?
Maybe it’s about relationships.
Is it being in love or having ahealthy bond with our families?Having lots of good friends?
But why then can we have all of these things,yet sometimes joy is still a stranger?
For me, joy is a choice,a daily choice as any good relationship is.
And in order to tell you aboutmy committed chosen relationship with joy itself,I need to first tell you thatit wasn’t always this way for me.
Many years ago, I struggled with depression.
This human life is a wild ride for so many of us,and I felt that deeply, and fell headlonginto an overwhelming long dark night of the soulthat held me in a very low ebb with life itselffor some years as a young woman.
One day I was walking along the road in springtime,feeling so very heavy with the weight of the world,bearing me down too low to feel the springtimeall around me.
Then something called me to pauseat a tree with beautiful green leaves.
I stopped.I looked at the tree.I picked a leaf.I turned it over and over.I smelled it.I held it up against the light,and it lay there on my hand,emerald green against my skin.
I was suddenly filled with the utmost wonderand an unfamiliar rush of indescribable joy,at the magic of a single leaf.
The colour of it, how the light illuminated it,the veins running through it,its qualities of photosynthesis,and its service to the whole tree.
The incredible process of its growth,how it grows from a tiny bud on a bare branch,fed simply with sunshine, rain,and the nutrients of the earth.
I looked up at the tree and then all around me,seeing for the first time since I was a little child,magic everywhere.
I saw an awe-inspiring miracle,a constantly singing symphony of life.
I saw love shared in small ways and big.
I opened my eyes and my heart, and joy flooded in.
In that moment, I decided thatno matter how much pain and grief the world carries,while there is even a single green leaf in my world,I will choose to celebrate life.
Over time, my joy grew and it became morethan a conscious choice or a momentary experience.
It became a whole way of being,a breathing in of the small magics every dayand a breathing out of my expression of joythrough music, art, dancing, love, friendships.
I am still a sensitive person.
I still feel the pain and suffering in the world.
I know what it is to feel upset, or sad, or angry,and I stand up as an activist at timesto say no when needed too.
But joy itself is an act of radical revolutionin this human world today.
And I learnt that if I keep choosing joy,keep choosing love,I have the capacity to hold it all,the whole human experience in all its colours,with compassion.
We all do.
We are vast beyond our understanding.
So may we all choosea moment of joy today, and every day,for joy is vital medicinefor us all.

The Music of My Soul - Recited by Chandra Levy

Chandra expresses her poetic and soulful reflection on inner harmony, where one’s essence flows like music—effortless, joyful, and grounded in presence and self-awareness. It celebrates love as a unifying force, revealing a sense of oneness and gratitude through simple, heartfelt being.
The Music Of My Soul
Hear the music of my soul
A symphony without a goal
Playing purely for the pleasure
Of sharing intimate treasure
Every note in its perfect place
Resonating a vibration of Grace
Within the depths of my Being
I am seen and I am seeing
Trust in the simple melody
Unfolding as it’s meant to be
Within the essence of my Being
I am heard and I am hearing
Without desire or agenda
From a place that’s truly tender
With a joy that laughter’s bringing
I am sung and I am singing
Thank you for this precious Grace
This unbounded loving space
It is filling and surrounding
‘Tis uplifting and it’s grounding
Now here we are right in the middle
Having finally solved the riddle
With the simplicity of Love
That together, We Are One.

I Am Chosen - Recited by Chandra Levy

In this poem, Chandra affirms a unity with divine love and all existence, expressing both choosing and being chosen while embracing a timeless connection of light, peace, and creative joy. In this realization of oneness, fear dissolves, questions fade, and life is experienced as an unfolding expression of unconditional love and shared being.
I Am Chosen
I choose and I am chosen.
I enthuse and I am woven within the fabric of all being.I am love and light receiving.
It is love unconditional.It is will undismissible.
With intention clear and pure within my being, I am sure.
I call to thee and thou art here.
I am thine, thou art divine.
As one being, the elusive “how” finds expression in the now.
As one being all questions cease, all fear is able to release.
With joy and laughter, I embrace the realization of thy grace.
I am thee, I am that, I am thine, I am mine.
I choose to remind of a mind out of time,of a heart broken open,of a connection unbroken,
Light and love invigorating, peace and joy reverberating,I infuse and am infused by the pleasure of creating.

The Child Who Remembered The Sky - by Brandon Michael Recited by Bhavani Lev

By Brandon Michael - Recited by BhavaniThis is the story of a child who is born with a deep inner knowing, feeling out of place in a world that seems to have forgotten something essential. As she grows, she hides her truth to fit in, but eventually reconnects with others like her—sensitive souls who remember something more real and sacred. Together, they quietly create and share, not to be seen, but to awaken the same remembrance in others who are still looking up, still carrying the song of the sky.
The Child Who Remembered The Sky by Brandon Michael
A story for anyone who never fit inand always knew why.
Once upon a time, though it didn’t feel like time,there was a child who was born already remembering.
She didn’t cry like the others.
Instead, her first breath trembled with a strange silence,like she had expected more.
Not more comfort, not more sound, more realness.
As if she’d just fallen from somewhere sacredand landed in a place that hadn’t remembered itself yet.
She grew up watching everything:the way adults moved like, they’d forgotten they were alive; the way teachers spoke, with words that felt too small for the truths she held; the way other kids laughed about things she couldn’t find funny,not because she was sad, but because she could feelthe edges of the invisible strings pulling them.
And always, there was the sky.
She’d stare up at it for hours,convinced it was saying something.
Not speaking words,but echoing a memoryshe couldn’t quite translate.
At night, she’d whisper to it,not for answers, just to not forget.
When she was older, she tried to become like everyone else.
She got good at pretending,smiling when she wanted to scream,agreeing when she wanted to shake them awake,laughing so they wouldn’t ask why she wasn’t.
But inside,inside,she was still staring at the sky.
She started writing,drawing,dreaming.
And in the quiet of those moments,something miraculous happened.
She remembered that she wasn’t alone.
There were others,scattered like stars across the world,each born with the same ache,each told they were too sensitive, too intense, too weird, too much.
But really, they were too real for a world running on masks.
One day, the child, now grown,met another like her, and they didn’t say much at first.
They didn’t have to.
Because in the stillness between their breath, they both recognized it:
The sky was alive inside them.
The memory wasn’t a fantasy.They hadn’t been broken.They had been sent.
Now they speak to others, not loudly, not with pride,but with the quiet strength of thosewho have nothing left to prove.
They build things, write truths, make art that cracks open old lies,not to show off, but to remember out loud, so others can feel it too.
So, if you are reading this and something inside you acheslike it’s waiting for something that hasn’t happened yet,it’s not because you’re lost.
It’s because you remember a place where the sky sang back,and you’re still carrying its song.
Not everyone will understand you.
That’s okay.
You weren’t meant for everyone.
You were meant for the ones still looking up,waiting for someone like you to remind themthey are not crazy,they are not broken,they are home.