{"id":5572,"date":"2017-01-12T23:13:50","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T06:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=5572"},"modified":"2017-01-12T23:13:50","modified_gmt":"2017-01-13T06:13:50","slug":"john-odonohue-for-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/12\/john-odonohue-for-light\/","title":{"rendered":"John O’Donohue – For Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Light
\nby John O\u2019Donohue<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Light cannot see inside things.
\nThat is what the dark is for:
\nMinding the interior,
\nNurturing the draw of growth
\nThrough places where death
\nIn its own way turns into life.<\/p>\n

In the glare of neon times,
\nLet our eyes not be worn
\nBy surfaces that shine
\nWith hunger made attractive.<\/p>\n

That our thoughts may be true light,
\nFinding their way into words
\nWhich have the weight of shadow
\nTo hold the layers of truth.<\/p>\n

That we never place our trust
\nIn minds claimed by empty light,
\nWhere one-sided certainties
\nAre driven by false desire.<\/p>\n

When we look into the heart,
\nMay our eyes have the kindness
\nAnd reverence of candlelight.<\/p>\n

That the searching of our minds
\nBe equal to the oblique
\nCrevices and corners where
\nThe mystery continues to dwell,
\nGlimmering in fugitive light.<\/p>\n

When we are confined inside
\nThe dark house of suffering
\nThat moonlight might find a window.<\/p>\n

When we become false and lost
\nThat the severe noon-light
\nWould cast our shadow clear.<\/p>\n

When we love, that dawn-light
\nWould lighten our feet
\nUpon the waters.<\/p>\n

As we grow old, that twilight
\nWould illuminate treasure
\nIn the fields of memory.<\/p>\n

And when we come to search for God,
\nLet us first be robed in night,
\nPut on the mind of morning
\nTo feel the rush of light
\nSpread slowly inside
\nThe color and stillness
\nOf a found word.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings<\/a>, by John O\u2019Donohue<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by Darren Bertram<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

After the holidays I have been having difficulty getting back into a regular rhythm of work and poetry and life in general. Do I need to refocus? Should I intensify my spiritual practice? Fast for a day or two? Should I be spending more time with poetry and writing, or should I let it sit until it bubbles up inside me? Do I push or do I putter?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a part of me that starts to spin in agitation when I feel like the rhythm of my life has shifted and I don\u2019t know my next step. But then there is also a nameless part of my awareness that finds a certain pleasure at resting in that uncertain space. That feeling of being out of sync and uncomfortable, as if I\u2019m an alien in the center my own life, is also an opportunity to forget what it means to be \u201cme.\u201d<\/p>\n

It can feel like a period of darkness, but it also allows us to see by a new light. When our accustomed patterns of feeling and activity shift, there is a period of time before we settle into the forward focus of new rhythms when the alleyways and secondary spaces of our lives become visible. Some of these are the most fascinating quirks of who we are. Here we may find troubled spaces, secret wounds, but also immense creativity, playfulness, and forgotten treasures and inner life.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donohue\u2019s poem seems like the perfect meditation. Light and darkness. The illumination of awareness and the shadow that allows us to see what is missed in the glare of too much light. How both shadow and light reveal in different ways. How light can be gentle or harsh, how the light and the dark can interact to shape the quality of the light and affect not just what we see but how we react to what is seen.<\/p>\n

And just as important as seeing is how we choose to see.<\/p>\n

When we look into the heart,
\nMay our eyes have the kindness
\nAnd reverence of candlelight.<\/i><\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: John O\u2019Donohue<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nEternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections on Our Yearning to Belong<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nConamara Blues<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nAnam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nEchoes of Memory<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
More Books >><\/a><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\"John<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nJohn O\u2019Donohue<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Ireland (1956 \u2013 2008) Timeline<\/a>
\nChristian<\/a> : Catholic<\/a>
\nSecular or Eclectic<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

John O\u2019Donohue is an inspiring Irish philosopher, poet, mystic who passed away unexpectedly in early 2008.<\/p>\n

John O\u2019Donohe had degrees in philosophy and literature. His writings, though grounded in academic philosophy and theology, are immediate, personal, very human. He was as much a mystic and a poet as a contributor to philosophical dialog.<\/p>\n

Much of his writing and poetry drew deeply from Irish Celtic perspectives, both in Christian and pre-Christian wisdom, while speaking to a widely diverse, modern audience.<\/p>\n

More poetry by John O\u2019Donohue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Light by John O\u2019Donohue 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[81,2030,1994],"class_list":["post-5572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-john-odonohue","tag-light-and-dark","tag-light-and-shadow"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5572"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5573,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5572\/revisions\/5573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}