Like the dawn

“When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like an endless, increasing weight.

The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
Now become laborsome events of will.

Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.

The tide you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.

You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken in the race of days.

At first your thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.

You have trawled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.

Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.”

~ John O’Donohue, For One Who Is Exhausted

There are times when there is nothing to give.
Times when the well is, indeed, dry.

A refreshing is needed, but is nowhere in sight.
The cup needs to be filled, but the tap sputters.

Seasons.

As the times of darkness descend
May we remember that they are not forever.
May we know that the light is hidden but for a time.
May we take comfort in the joys that contrast alone can bring.

As we grow weary under the weight of this life
May we rest well in the tender hands of time.
May we embrace the dirty truth
That we cannot pour forth our love
Until we allow ourselves to be drenched.

Like a sponge, let us slowly soak up the light.
Like the dawn, let us patiently await the palette of day.
Like the body, let us breathe in before breathing out.
Like the seasons, let us accept the times of rest
So that we can once again blossom into a being of light.