Happy New Year to all of my wonderful friends in the blogging world. Here is a fine poetic blessing that the late John O'Donohue wrote for his mother, Josie. Subsequently, the blessing was included in O'Donohue's book, To Bless the Space Between Us, and was offered as "A Blessing for the New Year." The words and Celtic sentiments embodied therein resonate deeply with me as I embark upon yet another year. May they also resonate with you.
by
John O'Donohue
On the day when
The weight deadens
On you shoulders
And you stumble,
May the clay dance
To balance you.
And when you eyes
Freeze behind
The gray window
And the ghost of loss
Gets into you,
May a flock of colors,
Indigo, red, green
And azure blue,
Come to awaken in you
A meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
In the curragh 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 the light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
And 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.
