May your gravity be lightened by grace

dancer in wind gif

For Equilibrium, a Blessing:

Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.

As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity by lightened by grace.

Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.

As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.

As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.

As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all it names.

May your prayer of listening deepen enough
to hear in the depths the laughter of god.”

― John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings


John O’Donohue (1 January 1956 – 4 January 2008) was an Irish poet, author, priest, and Hegelian philosopher. He was a native Irish speaker, and as an author is best known for popularizing Celtic spirituality.  O’Donohue said: ”Part of understanding the notion of Justice is to recognize the disproportions among which we live…it takes an awful lot of living with the powerless to really understand what it is like to be powerless, to have your voice, thoughts, ideas and concerns count for very little. We, who have been given much, whose voices can be heard, have a great duty and responsibility to make our voices heard with absolute integrity for those who are powerless.


Sources: Image – Thank you Anake Goodall. O’Donohue Blessing: Good Reads. O’Donohue Bio: Wiki.

Related O’Donohue Post:

March 17

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. Thank you to the Irish who have given us William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, C.S. Lewis, Frank McCourt, Bono along with millions of good and kind people.  And, of course, Riverdance.  Here’s a 2-minute clip of one of my favorite performances. (Can’t seem to get enough of this…)


Related Post: Sandy Sue @ A Mind Divided:  Happy St. Patrick’s Day.  Be sure to watch Enya’s music video titled Deora Ar Mo Chroi.

Let there be an opening into the quiet…

Meditation, zen, peace, calm, relax, buddhism

Let there be
an opening
into the quiet
that lies beneath
the chaos,
where you find
the peace
you did not think
possible
and see what shimmers
within the storm.

~ John O’Donohue (“Blessing in the Chaos”)


John O’Donohue (1956-2008) was an Irish poet, priest, Hegelian Philosopher and an author best known for popularizing Celtic spirituality.

“When you cease to fear your solitude, a new creativity awakens in you. Your forgotten or neglected wealth begins to reveal itself. You come home to yourself and learn to rest within. Thoughts are our inner senses. Infused with silence and solitude, they bring out the mystery of inner landscape.”


Photograph (not of Donohue) was taken by Raymond Depardon via goodmemory.  Quote Source: Thank you crashinglybeautiful via litverve.