Have you seen the movie “127 Hours”? It’s a true story. An almost unbelievable story. And, for me, it’s an unexpected illustration of what we’re trying to do in Lectio Poetica: to listen inwardly for answers to the questions that puzzle us outwardly, in our lives and work.

At our gathering on October 7, 2012, we contemplated Mary Oliver's poem “Invitation" (Redbird, 2008). I came to the circle that morning with a heavy heart, listening for a word of guidance from the still, small voice within. My daughter’s boyfriend in college had died suddenly about a month and a half before, and our whole family had been undergoing a long, very painful period of grief and change. Allow me to explain the Lectio Poetica process, using my personal experience as an example.