Taken directly as a passage from poet and philosopher John O'Donohue's lyrical ode to beauty called Beauty--The Invisible Embrace is his prelude to the poem I am featuring today called Oceans by Juan Ramon Jimenez.
"More often than not, we feel so enmeshed in life we have that the prospect of change feels remote or impossible. Thus, we continue on the tracks that we have laid down for ourselves. We are unable to think in new ways and we gradually teach ourselves to forget other horizons. We unlearn desire. Quitely, over time, we succumb to the dependable scripts of the expected life and become masters of the middle way. We avoid extremes and after a while we no longer even notice the pathways off to the side and no longer sense the danger and disturbance that could be experienced 'out there'. We learn to fit our chosen world with alarming precision and regularity. Often it takes a huge crisis or trauma to crack the dead shell that has grown ever more solid around us. Painful as that can be, it does resurrect the longing of the neglected soul. It makes a clearance. Again we can see the horizons and feel their attraction. though we may wince with vulnerability as we taste the exhilaration of freedom, we feel alive! 'Oceans' by Juan Ramon Jimenez captures this beautifully:
I have a feeling that my boat
has struck, down there in the depths,
against a great thing.
And nothing
happens! Nothing...Silence...Waves...
Nothing happens? Or has everything happened,
And we are standing now, quietly, in the new life."
translated by Robert Bly
I am including a link to my partner Paul's wonderful mindful superintedent blog post of today which shares themes similar to what O'Donohue and Jimenez both express in their words above.
Many, many people are struggling with the disruption and uncertainty which has been thrust upon us all but there can be goodness come out of even great difficulty.
In recent weeks I have felt the pain of cracking through the shell O'Donohue refers to but after the burn of anxiety and fear flamed out there is so much newfound space for creativity and beauty, for peace, for love and for joy.
And may we all have the wisdom to realize that collectively as a species we are standing now, quietly, in the new life.
May peace and beauty be yours,
Thanks for reading!
Jill
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