Episode 13

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Like so many of us, the pandemic has caused very difficult things to happen in my life. Many shifts and openings have emerged unexpectedly, in my life and art practice, during this time of lockdown. I often turn to poetry when I feel sad, lost or unsure and find that somehow I seem to stumble upon just the poem that I need to help me feel better. Recently, I have been deeply moved by these two poems by John O’Donohue:

For the Time of Necessary Decision

by John O’Donohue

The mind of time is hard to read.
We can never predict what it will bring,
Nor even from all that is already gone
Can we say what form it finally takes;
For time gathers its moments secretly.
Often we only know it’s time to change
When a force has built inside the heart
That leaves us uneasy as we are.

Perhaps the work we do has lost its soul
Or the love where we once belonged
Calls nothing alive in us anymore.
We drift through this gray, increasing nowhere
Until we stand before a threshold we know
We have to cross to come alive once more.

May we have the courage to take the step
Into the unknown that beckons us;
Trust that a richer life awaits us there,
That we will lose nothing
But what has already died;
Feel the deeper knowing in us sure
Of all that is about to be born beyond
The pale frames where we stayed confined,
Not realizing how such vacant endurance
Was bleaching our soul’s desire.

and the second beautiful poem:

For Courage

by John O’Donohue

When the light around you lessens
And your thoughts darken until
Your body feels fear turn
Cold as a stone inside,

When you find yourself bereft
Of any belief in yourself
And all you unknowingly
Leaned on has fallen,

When one voice commands
Your whole heart,
And it is raven dark,

Steady yourself and see
That it is your own thinking
That darkens your world.

Search and you will find
A diamond-thought of light,

Know that you are not alone,
And that this darkness has purpose;
Gradually it will school your eyes,
To find the one gift your life requires
Hidden within this night-corner.

Invoke the learning
Of every suffering
You have suffered.

Close your eyes.
Gather all the kindling
About your heart
To create one spark
That is all you need
To nourish the flame
That will cleanse the dark
Of its weight of festered fear.

A new confidence will come alive
To urge you towards higher ground
Where your imagination
will learn to engage difficulty
As its most rewarding threshold!

I hope you enjoy listening to the episode where I read these poems out loud and share reflections on the pandemic’s impact on my life and art practice and what is awakening now.

Resources:

-To Bless the Space Between Us, a book by John O’Donohue

-Amy T. Won, an amazing painter and soulful, spiritual human who made a deck of meditation cards called "A Deck for Wonder Walking" to invite enchantment and wonder and deeper creativity in our lives. You can learn more about her at www.amytwon.com. 

-Yarrow Magdalena, who wrote a magical book during the pandemic that I just finished called,  Rituals: simple and radical practices for enchantment in times of crisis.

-Yarrow also has two podcasts that I love, "Daydreaming Wolves: A Podcast about art, healing and ritual" and "DIY Small Business Podcast". You can learn more about Yarrow at www.yarrowmagdalena.com.

-Follow me on Instagram @deeprootedhealing