This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.
Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.
If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.
Quote: John O’Donohue, from Beannacht, Book of Blessings
from – mindfulbalance
May I live this day
Compassionate of heart,
Clear in word,
Gracious in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love.
Quote: JOHN O’DONOHUE
Photo: Ann Cahill
excerpt from ‘Matins’ – (from FaceBook page)
It is incredible that humans manage to forget the miracle of being here. Rilke said, ‘Being here is so much,’ and it is uncanny how social reality can deaden and numb us so that the mystical wonder of our lives goes totally unnoticed. We are here. We are wildly and dangerously free.
Quote: John O’Donohue
Thank you to Karl Duffy
May anxiety never linger about you.
May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.
Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift,
woven around the heart of wonder.
Anxiety has lingered much longer than I ever thought it could. These words are a balm, encouraging a smile and welcoming me to this present moment. On reflection, it must have been those quiet miracles that moved me through days, weeks and years when I was unable to focus.
I’m grateful for a heart of wonder. May I use this wonder to reach out and explore possibilities before me. May I experience wonder’s gift as holy and healing.
Quote: John O’Donohue, from For Presence
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.
Quote:John O’Donohue
Excerpt from ‘A Morning Offering’ found in his books,
To Bless the Space Between Us
Image: Killarney National Park, Co Kerry / Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill
Carrie's Bench 
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