Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
In his poem entitled, “ For a New Beginning,” John O’ Donohue invites us to explore the out of the way places of our hearts where our new selves are quietly emerging…
After I read this poem several times I found myself still going back to it over and over again finding some new bit of truth each time. I am not sure, even now, if it is done with me.
I swim at least 3 days a week – 1 mile each session. I walk 2 days a week – at least 3 miles each trip. I like to think that by this time I have achieved physical fitness, extreme weight loss, magnificent bone density, expanded lung capacity, and would be ready for all that life throws my way.
The reality is just that – reality. I have lost some weight but will struggle with weight loss and maintaining those losses for the rest of my life. I have increased my lifespan but still struggle getting up off the floor without holding on to something. I sleep better at night but still struggle with anxiety and worry about so many things.
In the poem O’ Donohue talks about being unable to leave what we have outgrown. I think about the times I have talked myself into a cycle of fear and uncertainty about my ability to face something or change something about myself I desperately want to change.
Transformation is not something that happens overnight or something that changes us into somebody else. I think rather, it is the daily grind and our commitment to accepting each day as an opportunity to evolve, even just a little, that can be most transformative. So I guess I’ll keep swimming and walking.
~Lydia Patrick
