Fill Up for the New Year

A few days ago, when I logged into Facebook,  front and center was a blessing that a friend shared, as it had been shared with her. It resonated with me, deeply, and I have been going back to it almost daily in the time since.  Each time I go back for a re-read, I get something new from it, a new layer of comfort and understanding.

I often say I am late the party, and why break tradition at this point? Though the holidays have finally been wrapped up, and a new year has fluttered in with a new calendar page, it’s never too late to stop and reflect on what it is that nourishes our souls, and seek more of that not only for ourselves, but so that we are filled with something to share with others, as we begin anew.

What will you fill yourself with this year?

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 colors,
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

Happy New Year to each and every one of you!

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