Last week I shared a poem I wrote about a new beginning. Here is another poem about new beginnings written by John O’Donohue, which I treasure – not only for the beautiful message that resonates deeply within me, but also for the lovely way that it came to me. After finishing an 8-week Mindfulness by Design virtual series with my colleagues Katiuscia Berretta and Annahita Varahrami, and as we were embarking on the new year of 2018, Kat sent this gift to me.
I believe in beginning again, over and over. I see fresh starts in moments throughout the day, each new day awakening, the perspective that a trip can bring, a new opportunity to make a difference, meeting a new found friend, in flower buds opening to the sun…
I am inspired by the invitation of courage and energy and openness that comes to me through this poem.
For a New Beginning
By John O’Donohue
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
* I took this photo of a peony growing in my backyard. You can see this same flower in full beautiful bloom.
And Then Opens Possibility 