John O'Donohue's blessing

When we were in Belfast a few months ago, Gareth Higgins (who is an interesting and intelligent guy - check out his blog called god is not elsewhere) read out this blessing to us by John O'Donohue. I now have permission to blog it here. Its from his Anam Cara book. And if you like it, you might like his next book of blessings coming out later this year.

Beannacht ("Blessing") by John O’Donohue

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.

Comments

[jonny]

thanks for getting permission - this is truly beautiful

[Dan Wilt]

I loved the book, and found it to reflect light back into my daily world everytime I read it. Thanks for the post, Andrew.

[michael bells]

i will be looking for his new book, and looking for "anam cara".
one of the things we don't do well, is giving blessings
thanks for pointing me to John

[chad]

Thanks andrew.

I think alot of us are interested in the lost art of the blessing. I love seeing new ones written.

[lyn]

This really is beautiful. I must check out the book. Thank you for getting permission to share.

[jake]

Thanks for sharing this Andrew, I needed to read something like that.

[Roy]

amazing. thanks for sharing this blessing.

[Victor Estrada]

Hey, I'm just blog surfing and ran across yours. I'm diggin' that poem... It's beautiful. Thanks for blogging.

- Vic

www.thewonderfulnoise.com

[Bryan Riley]

fantastic.

[Sandra]

I came across this through reading Anam Cara but did a search as I was so intrigued by it - fantastic to realise that these words have touched so many other people too.

[Kris]

is the blessing your shared at forge conference? :) i am looking through my forge notes and I found a comment that said I needed to look up the blessing and I think it was this one :)

[andrew]

yes - same one.

[shara]

miss John O’Donohue

"the greatest privileges of a human life is to become midwife to the birth of the soul"
John O’Donohue

"When the inner senses are dull and blurred, you become a respectable prisoner of a mind able to receive everything except the extraordinary."
John O’Donohue

"The greatest friend of the soul is the unknown"
John O’Donohue

video with johns poem at http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=d2OPNzAWg9k