Hope

RIC_8728-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

I would love to live
Like a river flows,
Carried by the surprise
Of its own unfolding.

John O'Donohue, 
Fluent

Vision

Toronto 31 (2013, 9.4), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


The heart of vision is shaped by the state of the soul.
When the soul is alive to beauty, 
we begin to see life in a fresh and vital way. 

John O'Donohue

Beginning in Possibility

Clouds87, Cedar Point, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     In the beginning was the dream. In the eternal night where
     no dawn broke, the dream deepened. Everything had its beginning
     in possibility.

        John O'Donohue, Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections On Our Yearning to Belong

In Memory of Jack Layton [July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011]

RC1_9250, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

“We deeply regret to inform you that the Honourable Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, passed away at 4:45 am today, Monday August 22. He passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family and loved ones.”

Olivia Chow, wife and a fellow NDP MP

May you continue to inspire us:

To enter each day with a generous heart.

To serve the call of courage and love

Until we see your beautiful face again

In that land where there is no more separation,

Where all tears will be wiped from our mind,

And where we will never lose you again.

John O'Donohue, On the Death of the Beloved

.

Artist

Everyone is an artist.  Each person brings sound out of silence and coaxes the invisible to become visible.

John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Celtic Prayer

I arise today
through the strength of heaven, light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightening,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

"St Patrick's Breastplate/The Deer's Cry," translated by Kuno Meyer in Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'Donouhe

A Blessing of Solitude

May you recognize in your life the presence, power, and light of your soul.
May you realize that you are never alone,
that your soul in its brightness and belonging connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe.  ...
May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride, and expectation with which God sees you in every moment.

John O'Donohue, A Blessing of Solitude, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Imagination

The imagination is the great friend of the unknown.  Endlessly, it invokes and releases the power of possibility.

John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Solitude

When you cease to fear your solitude, a new creativity awakens in you.  ...  You come home to yourself and learn to rest within.

John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Beannacht ("Blessing")

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, Beannacht ("Blessing")