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 attractive.
When we look into the heart,
May our eyes have the kindness
And reverence of candlelight.
That the searching of our minds
Be equal to the oblique
Crevices and corners where
The mystery continues to dwell,
Glimmering in fugitive light.
When we are confined inside
The dark house of suffering
That moonlight might find a window.
When we become false and lost
That the severe noon-light
Would cast our shadow clear.
When we love, that dawn-light
Would lighten our feet
Upon the waters.
As we grow old, that twilight
Would illuminate treasure
In the fields of memory.
And when we come to search for God,
Let us first be robed in night,
Put on the mind of morning
To feel the rush of light
Spread slowly inside
The colour and stillness
Of a found world.
by John O’Donohue
At this time of the year many celebrate the riches found in darkness, stillness and introspection, and turn towards inner light. John O’Donohue’s poem leads us through a kaleidoscope of inner and outer shades of light and shadow textures. Each verse offering a different hue and feel, and a different illuminating reflection.
Isn’t this a beautiful verse ‘When we look into our heart, May our eyes have the kindness, And reverence of candlelight.’ This inspires me to sit with a candle in the darkness and see how it feels to take this as guidance for my practice – to regard my own heart with kindness, yes, and with reverence. A potent antidote to the way we often treat ourselves, which for many holds some a degree of judgement or even disdain. I believe each and every heart deserves reverence and is a sacred landscape to explore. What gift might you find there?
A bulb quickens in the dark. The dark ‘minds the interior’ when growth is not yet visible and is potential not manifest. If we can take a bit of time to slow down and dwell here in the darkness, we may find the crevices where ‘The mystery continues to dwell, Glimmering in fugitive light’. Fugitive light! This must mean the light that is hard to capture or grasp. The elusive light that is shy of ‘the glare of neon times’. In these neon times (what a perfect way to describe them!), does the idea of taking a bit of time and space to tune out of neon light and connect with darkness, twilight, dawn or candlelight entice you? I think we all need a bit of this to set us to rights at this time of year. Could you gift this to yourself?
As for the last verse, I hesitate to say much. I think perhaps my own thoughts need to stay ‘fugitive’ and not be captured. But I invite you to soften into the ‘mind of morning’, and if your mind won’t go there, to feel your longing for that freshness. Longing is a place to be when you aren’t ‘there yet’. I sit with longing a lot these days and I experience it as a doorway to the heart. Does longing linger about you when you read this poem? If so, why not let that longing be a place to hang out in, with reverence?
Ps. There’s still time to book in for one of our practice days over the holiday season this winter. There are three to choose from here.
Photo by Umesh Soni on Unsplash