For Light
Light cannot see inside things.
That is what the dark is for.
Minding the interior,
Nurturing the draw of growth
Through places where death
In its own way turns into life.
In the glare of neon times,
Let our eyes not be worn
By surfaces that shine
With hunger made attractive.
That our thoughts may be true light,
Finding their way into words
Which have the weight of shadow
To hold the layers of truth.
That we never place our trust
In minds claimed by empty light,
Where one-sided certainties
Are driven by false desire.
When we look into the heart,
May our eyes have the kindness
And reverence of candlelight.
John O’Donohue, Benedictus
My word for the coming year is Light, I want to live in such a way as to be striving toward Light so that those around me feel more Light than Darkness. I want to avoid footsteps in my journey that keep me in the shadows of negative thoughts and patterns and choose trails that keep me more in the light of positive thoughts and expectations. Our world seems full of dire predictions and truly tragic circumstances and for this reason people need to seek Light and the discipline of mind and spirit to expect good and live with a mindset that accepts the abundance that is here in this life. Are there hard things to understand and live through? Of course, but the attitude we approach such things needs to be tempered by the knowledge that “all things truly do work together for them that love God and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) This world was created to us to enjoy life in the Light of a relationship with God. We choose whether we walk in that Light of stay in the shadows. “For you were once darkness, but now are you light in the Lord; walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” Ephesians 5:8-9)
“The tree rises from the dark. It circles around the “heart of darkness” from which it reaches towards the light. A tree is a perfect presence. It is somehow able to engage and integrate its own dissolution. The tree is wise in knowing how to foster its own loss. It does not become haunted by the loss nor addicted to it. The tree shelters and minds the loss. Out of this comes the quiet dignity and poise of a trees presence. Trees stand beautifully on the clay. They stand with dignity. A life that wishes to honour its own possibility has to learn how to integrate the suffering of dark and bleak times into a dignity of presence. Letting go of old forms of life, a tree practices hospitality towards new forms of life. It balances the perennial energies of winter and spring within its own living bark. The tree is wise in the art of belonging. The tree teaches us how to journey. Too frequently our inner journeys have no depth. We move forward feverishly into new situations and experiences which neither nourish nor challenge us, because we have left our deeper selves behind. It is no wonder that the addiction to superficial novelty leaves us invariably empty and weary. Much of our experience is literally superficial; it slips deftly from surface to surface. It lacks rootage. The tree can reach towards the light, endure wind, rain and storm, precisely because it is rooted. Each of its branches is ultimately anchored in a reliable depth of clay. The wisdom of the tree balances the path inwards with the pathway outwards.”
Celtic Reflections on our Yearning to Belong.
Written by John O’ Donohue; Eternal Echoes-
WHEN I AM AMONG TREES
by Mary Oliver
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks, and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,”
they say, “and you, too, have come
into the world to do this, to go easy,
to be filled with light, and to shine.”
