No one knew the name of this day;
Born quietly from deepest night,
It hid its face in light,
Demanded nothing for itself,
Opened out to offer each of us
A field of brightness that traveled ahead,
Providing in time, ground to hold our footsteps
And the light of thought to show the way.
The mind of the day draws no attention;
It dwells within the silence with elegance
To create a space for all our words,
Drawing us to listen inward and outward.
We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,
Transforming our broken fragments
Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.
Somewhere in us a dignity presides
That is more gracious than the smallness
That fuels us with fear and force,
A dignity that trusts the form a day takes.
So at the end of this day, we give thanks
For being betrothed to the unknown
And for the secret work
Through which the mind of the day
And wisdom of the soul become one.
— John O’Donohue (1954–2008)
From To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings.
Related: What To Remember When Waking by David Whyte.
Also see For a New Beginning by John O’Donohue.
John O’Donohue was an inspiring Irish philosopher, poet, and mystic who lived in the West of Ireland. His native tongue was Gaelic. His Ph.D. dissertation in the field of philosophical theology developed a new concept of Person through a re-interpretation of Hegel. He insisted in his work on beauty as a human calling and a defining aspect of God, and much of his writing drew from pre-Christian Irish Celtic perspectives. He was well known for his bestselling book Anam Cara. In the year of his death his book of blessings, Benedictus, was published. For a list of his books visit Amazon.com.
Listen to Krista Tippett interview John O’Donohue On Being: The Inner Landscape of Beauty.
The Uncarved Blog 
March 4, 2012 at 10:29 pm |
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April 30, 2012 at 12:40 pm |
[…] complementary poems by John O’Donohue you may also enjoy reading: For a New Beginning and The Inner History of a Day. Share this:TwitterFacebookEmailMoreStumbleUponDiggRedditPrintLike this:LikeBe the first to like […]
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June 27, 2014 at 9:13 pm |
[…] Other poems For a New Beginning by John O’Donohue and The Inner History of a Day by John O’Donohue. […]
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January 27, 2020 at 2:39 pm |
[…] 3 more of his lovely poems: A Blessing of Solitude (Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom); The Inner History of a Day and For a New Beginning (To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of […]
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