L'Shana Tovah

L'Shana Tovah...

On this day of Rosh Hashanah - the New Year for Jews everywhere - "may you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year!"

I wake up on this crisp fall morning, and the fog takes my breath away, reminding me of a few short years ago, when I went paddling in the fog on this day, and on Yom Kippur as well...

I sold my truck this weekend, so I no longer have a handy way of bringing Grace, my kayak, down to the river - but I do head down for a visit nonetheless - and do my morning ablutions by the banks of the river...

I walk down to the boat launch area, gingerly stepping into the water's edge where it meets and merges with its concrete retainer...

In front of me the sight is breathtaking - the hydrilla - the river grasses which have over populated the water this year - punctuates the vast sea of grey spreading out before me - spilling out of its normal boundaries - as it separates the heavens above from the earth below...

This is a time for new beginnings...

I pray for a dear friend undergoing surgery on her cervical spine today - and for the son of another dear friend whose body is being repaired after a serious accident...

I pray for a still another friend making life altering decisions...

For all three of these brave souls, the future is fraught with uncertainty - even though it also portends of new beginnings...

It is a time of new beginnings for me - and so many others as well...

How fitting to have received this beautiful poem by John O'Donohue this morning... May it speak to you - as it spoke to me and countless others.

L'Shana Tovah!

For a New Beginning

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us)