Light Within

Today my heart needs to borrow the words of John O’Donohue to express my storms on a more philosophical level:

For Light

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.

That our thoughts may be true light,
Finding their way into words
Which have the weight of shadow
To hold the layers of truth.

That we never place our trust
In minds claimed by empty light,
Where one-sided certainties
Are driven by false desire.

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 so 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.
– John O’Donohue, from Benedictus

There is so much to take away from this prayer that I am not sure where to start. It almost feels as though O’Donohue could reach into the depths of my mind and breathe life and light into my soul.

That we never place our trust
In minds claimed by empty light,
Where one-sided certainties
Are driven by false desire.

In the age of internet and virtual lives, the older I get the more I find myself craving for presence and belonging, to be able to reach out and touch another person, and feel the truth of the thoughts that sometimes language and all its limitations cannot. The squeeze of a hand, the soft caress of a smile, or even the gentle look of understanding eyes. No amount of electronics can ever replace this. Yes, of course it helps overcome certain limitations, but a hug can do so much more in three seconds than two hours on a video call ever will.