"All that is eternal in me
Welcomes the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.
May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.
May I have the courage today
To live the life that I love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more."
~John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us
I have a bit of wanderlust these days. I have been spending time on websites looking at vacation homes in far away places. I read yesterday’s Travel section of the paper with a fine tooth comb. I find myself looking for books set in other places, places I can journey to in my imagination if not in reality. This is probably a signal that I need a vacation or at least a break but since none is really planned any time soon, I suppose the imaginary trips are better than no trip at all. It is the middle of July. Summer is moving headlong into fall and there is a feeling that if an adventure is to be had, an epiphany to be realized, it had better happen, and soon.
What brings about this kind of uneasiness? Why does this edginess bubble up now and not last week? What are the burrs that get under the saddle we ride that nag and poke until we do something about them? Perhaps it is that deep realization that ‘all that eternal’ in us begs to be experienced. John O’Donohue describes this invisible geography that invites us to new frontiers, to be disturbed and changed as a gift of every day. It is true this is present with the rising of Sun but we are not always aware or ready for that kind of living. Some days we need to be carbon copies of the one before and the one that is yet to come.
And then there are days, even weeks, …..when we are pushed to the precipice of our longings, our dreams…that place where we need to wear a badge of courage like the Friendly Lion in the Wizard of Oz. This is the place where we claim the life we love and pledge to live it despite all odds. This is the place where fear cannot find a home because Life itself is too big, too beautiful. The place where we throw our arms open wide and gather the wonder into every breath, every cell.
Among my family and friends we often ask the ‘Mary Oliver question’. "Tell, me what do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" These words made famous in her poem pop up at the oddest of times but usually with great thought on the part of the one who asks.
It is a good question for a beautiful July day. A good question to give your heart to. It is an eternal question.