Blessings as A Way of Being

Yesterday, I picked up a phenomenal book by one of my favorite authors, Irish poet and theologian John O’Donohue. The book, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings, is filled with spiritual insight and offers blessings that can be used for ceremonies (“For a New Home”, “For Marriage”, “On The Death of the Beloved”) and also blessings for things we see, feel, and experience each day, such as “On Meeting a Stranger” and “For Light”.

“O’Donohue looks at life’s thresholds—getting married, having children, starting a new job—and offers invaluable guidelines for making the transition from a known, familiar world into a new, unmapped territory. Most profoundly, however, O’Donohue explains ‘blessing’ as a way of life, a lens through which the whole world is transformed.”

I can’t wait to read each poem and to savor the blessing each offers.

I started this morning with “On Waking”, before going for a beautiful walk as the sun emerged from behind the fog.

On Waking

I give thanks for arriving
Safely in a new dawn,
For the gift of eyes
To see the world,
The gift of mind
To feel at home
In my life.
The waves of possibility
Breaking on the shore of dawn,
The harvest of the past
That awaits my hunger,
And all the furtherings
This new day will bring.
~ John O’Donohue

(C)John O'Donohue. All rights reserved.
For more information on the work of John O'Donohue, please visit his Web site at http://www.johnodonohue.com, or to order books directly, visit http://www.johnodonohue.com/books/.

How can you bless what comes your way today? Can you bless the stranger on your path?

Can you bless the fire inside yourself, the silence you enjoy while having a cup of tea?

Can you bless the mystery of what the day has yet to offer?