On the day when The weight deadens On your shoulders And you stumble, May the clay dance To balance you. And when your eyes Freeze behind The grey window And the ghost of loss Gets into you, May a flock of colours, Indigo, red, green And azure blue, Come to awaken in you A meadow of delight. When the canvas frays In the currach of thought And a stain of ocean Blackens beneath you, May there come across the waters A path of yellow moonlight To bring you safely home. May the nourishment of the earth be yours, May the clarity of light be yours, May the fluency of the ocean be yours, May the protection of the ancestors be yours. And so may a slow Wind work these words Of love around you, An invisible cloak To mind your life. - John O'Donohue, "Beannacht" . . Dearest friends, I do not think I'll be able to bend and stretch words enough to fully tell of the thin space where I found myself a few days ago. I had this little bit of nothing in my hand. Linen from Latvia, tattered scraps of century-old quilts, and other beloved old fragments. All I had in me to do was a running stitch, my meditation, my soul's balm. It's an unusual piece for me because I don't gravitate toward bright primary colors, but on this day, they found me. And so did the poem above, read by the author in tenderness and strength. His words, in sublime Irish brogue, fell on my ears and over my hands as I stitched. They fell over my exhausted mind. They fell over my aching heart. And Divine Love held me in that place. I felt your hearts holding me. I felt the care of those here with me, walking the long, rocky path before us. I felt myself beloved on the earth. And I was grateful. I am grateful still. All my love, dear ones. . . . . . #gratitude #hope #riseup #shineon #mindfulness #courage #textile #linen #meditation #upcycle #sustainable #vintage #borostitch #kantha #wabisabi #handstitched #nothingisordinary #fiberart #embroidery #simplethings #wholehearted #inspiration #liveauthentic #youareloved #makedo #mend #themendingspace #rustic #recycle
