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
This is the poem Michael read in the first Journey I co-facilitates with the L.O.V.E Collective, my penultimate journey. I loved the way he spoke it, his voice so strong and reassuring. I want to remember the timber of his voice always, remember the way I felt when I heard him read this blessing for the first time. This was nearly a month ago. So much has changed since then.
“What do you see as the most significant change you have ever made in your life?” is the question in 12 days journal #108
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
Maya Angelou
The change in spiritual path I made after I held my infant son in my arms and felt his beautiful spirit leave his body. I felt such deep sorrow but also such beautiful joy...when he left me, he gave me the greatest gift ever: clarity about my path and my beliefs and what they both meant to me, and how I should proceed with my life, being true to myself and my path, holding fast to what I believe even though it is not mainstream, is not always even considered acceptable. He gave me the courage to step out on what I knew was the true path for me and to stick to it over the years since he's been gone. I feel like he guides me still. His life and death led to the most significant change I've ever made in my life, and I will always honor him for it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Angela. Would definitely agree on what a child's life alone does to change a person, never mind the loss.
ReplyDeleteThe most significant change in my life occurred when I tried to end the pain in my life by trying to kill myself. I didn't know how much work it would take to get me reconnected with myself and the people around me. My partner, my children, my mother...I had been keeping them all at bay for so long, I had to work to bring down the walls that I had built up. I found parts of myself on the outside of that wall too. Holy shit.
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