For the Traveler
Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in.
New strangers on other paths await.
New places that have never seen you
Will startle a little at your entry.
Old places that know you well
Will pretend nothing
Changed since your last visit.
When you travel, you find yourself
Alone in a different way,
More attentive now
To the self you bring along,
Your more subtle eye watching
You abroad; and how what meets you
Touches that part of the heart
That lies low at home:
How you unexpectedly attune
To the timbre in some voice,
Opening in conversation
You want to take in
To where your longing
Has pressed hard enough
Inward, on some unsaid dark,
To create a crystal of insight
You could not have known
You needed
To illuminate
Your way.
When you travel,
A new silence
Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.
A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.
May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.
May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.
~ John O'Donohue ~
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the notion that a journey can become a sacred thing? Can you share an experience of a journey where a silence within you helped you hear your heart? What helps be more attentive to the self you bring along?
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43 Past Reflections
On May 7, 2024 Miss Rose wrote :
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On Sep 18, 2023 E.Bering wrote :
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On Mar 4, 2023 Valerie wrote :
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Colette
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On Feb 27, 2023 Rocky Mountain Yogi Girl wrote :
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On Feb 27, 2023 Linda wrote :
May this special pilgrimage help me awaken.
“ When you travel,
A new silence
Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.”
What does my heart want to say in these special days. A great question to ponder.
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On Feb 27, 2023 Kevin Laughlin wrote :
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On Aug 19, 2022 M.Regina Fahy RSM wrote :
I had a wonderful Retreat at Mercy Farm in Vermont on Celtic Spirituality led by Anne Curtis. We crossed thresholds and
Journeyed with Bridget, Patrick and Brendan the Navigator. And the journeying was such a Mercy experience and touched my heart as preparation for Chapter
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On Aug 19, 2022 M Regina Fahy wrote :
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On Nov 19, 2021 Carrie Sant wrote :
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On Feb 15, 2021 Mig K wrote :
A long train journey is so good for inner silence, with the steady thrum of the train on the tracks, the gentle swaying and the scenery glimpsed as it passes somehow creating a container to hold the silence.
I had taken with me the sketchbook I'd begun to fill on the course and, as the journey proceeded, I drew a labyrinth with sketches of notable scenery, both outer and inner, that I encountered on the way.
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On Apr 30, 2020 Christi wrote :
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On Mar 7, 2019 Donald Hardie wrote :
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On Dec 8, 2016 Laura J Hendrickson wrote :
I love John expressing the feelings and thoughts that are just below the surface each day as we live the sanctuary of our homes. My heart fluttered just a bit in reading this, as I could feel the excitement, the expectation and, yes, the bit of trepidation as I leave my home in the morning. I believe each day is sacred and each day is an opportunity to transform something. Thank you, John, for expressing it so beautifully. Each morning, I, as a practicing Buddhist, chant the mantra Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, to my mandala to commune with my higher self and set the tone for the day. I return each evening to perform the ritual again. This morning and evening rhythm refreshes, invigorates and cleanses my life to start the next daily journey.
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On Dec 7, 2016 me wrote :
I met a very special man 11 (ish) years ago. Though words cannot explain it, I felt a Spiritual connection at our first meeting. Roughly, 9 years ago I read John O'Donohue's book entitled Anam Cara. This book "put into words" the relationship my soul had and still has with him. My Path and his do not often cross (physically) ... But (Spiritually) I do not go anywhere without him. For God so loved me, He blessed me with my Anam Cara ... And, for this gift, I am soooo thankful! Namaste
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On Dec 6, 2016 Kristin Pedemonti wrote :
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On Dec 6, 2016 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
1 reply: Trudie | Post Your Reply
On Dec 6, 2016 Mony wrote :
The journey is the Soul's eternal invitation to connect with the Love that is its essence. Every step becomes sacred. Every breath, a deepening of the connection.
I experienced this over and again on my pilgrimage walking from Rome to Jerusalem. The body disappears. The mind stills; and all that is left is the heart, opened and receiving.
The true journey is maintaining that sense of openness and wonder in what is disguised as "ordinary life". The breath, with yoga, remain my daily practice on this pilgrimage called life. <3
1 reply: Trudie | Post Your Reply
On Dec 3, 2016 david doane wrote :
A journey is sacred that proceeds by following one's inner voice or spirit, that engenders learning, growth, and becoming more whole, and likely takes one where he or she doesn't know he or she is going. When I do that kind of journeying, mostly for brief durations during some days, I don't have external goals and I block out external distractions which creates a silence to the outside world that helps me hear and be guided by my inside world. Such journeying is alive for me and helps me be more attentive to my inner self. Such journeying is its own reward.