On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the Earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
~ John O'Donohue
Showing posts with label John O'Donohue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John O'Donohue. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Beannacht ("Blessing") for the New Year
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
A Blessing by John O'Donohue (on the Occasion of a Friend's Birthday)
I
bless the night that nourished my heart
To
set the ghosts of longing free
Into
the flow and figure of dream
That
went to harvest from the dark
Bread
for the hunger no one sees.
All
that is eternal in me
Welcomes
the wonder of this day.
The
field of brightness it creates
Offering
time for each thing
To
arise and illuminate.
I
place on the altar of dawn:
The
quiet loyalty of breath.
The
tent of thought where I shelter.
Waves
of desire I am shore to,
And
all beauty drawn to the eye.
May
my mind come alive today
To
the invisible geography
That
invites me to new frontiers,
To
break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To
risk being disturbed and changed.
May
I have the courage today
To
live the life that I would love.
To
postpone my dream no longer
But
do at last what I came here for.
And
waste my heart on fear no more.
"Beauty isn’t all about just nice loveliness, like. Beauty is about more rounded, substantial becoming. So I think beauty, in that sense, is about an emerging fullness, a greater sense of grace and elegance, a deeper sense of depth, and also a kind of homecoming for the enriched memory of your unfolding life." John O'Donohue
interview with John O'Donohue
on the Landscape of Inner Beauty with Krista Tippett of On Being:
Monday, March 6, 2017
A Blessing by John O'Donohue
A Blessing
May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites us to new frontiers
To break the dead shell of yesterdays
To risk being disturbed and changed.
May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.
John O'Donohue
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Beannacht ("Blessing") for the New Year
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the Earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
~ John O'Donohue ~
Friday, December 4, 2015
An Irish Blessing by John O'Donohue
Beannacht("Blessing")
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
~ John O'Donohue
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1t47OFrRI5EaIBcm2MivnbJ0UHbVTEYKIgNOffnfqPU6DlpHd8QuZwBYJ5uwL2SJo-bfUEuBd6cLwZ8kGwpoNVxeMvzKTyvON3xbFl60FUVDldAaXxNFlkRbPsJn82LI7ylUkf0DAXnO/s320/green+hands+7.jpg)
Friday, October 30, 2015
2 Poems for the Season
Last Days
by Mary Oliver
Things are changing;
things are starting to
spin, snap, fly off into
the blue sleeve of the long
afternoon.
Oh and ooh
come whistling
outof the perished mouth
of the grass, as things
turn soft, boil back
into substance and hue.
As everything,
forgetting its own enchantment,
whispers:
I too love oblivion why not
it is full
of second chances.
Now,
hiss the bright curls of the leaves.
Now!
booms the muscle
of the wind.
A Blessing
May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites us to new frontiers
To break the dead shell of yesterdays
To risk being disturbed and changed.
May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.
John O'Donohue
Monday, March 30, 2015
A Blessing for all Makers
Beannacht
("Blessing")On the day whenthe weight deadenson your shouldersand you stumble,may the clay danceto balance you.And when your eyesfreeze behindthe grey windowand the ghost of lossgets in to you,may a flock of colours,indigo, red, green,and azure bluecome to awaken in youa meadow of delight.When the canvas fraysin the currach of thoughtand a stain of oceanblackens beneath you,may there come across the watersa path of yellow moonlightto bring you safely home.May the nourishment of the earth be yours,may the clarity of light be yours,may the fluency of the ocean be yours,may the protection of the ancestors be yours.And so may a slowwind work these wordsof love around you,an invisible cloakto mind your life.~ John O'Donohue ~
(Echoes of Memory)
With many thanks to Susan Nowogradzki for sharing this poem with me.............
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)