A Blessing for the Traveler
Sue Hetherington recently shared John O’Donohue’s poem For a Traveler in her post fresh sight from the quiet edge. O’Donohue’s blessing is an invitation to be awake and aware on the journey. Images from my safari came to mind as I steeped myself in the wisdom of his words.
FOR THE TRAVELLER
Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in,
Zebras on the road - Tsavo East National Park
New strangers on other paths await.
New places that have never seen you
Will startle a little at your entry.
Leopard - Tsavo East National Park
Old places that know you well
Will pretend nothing
Changed since your last visit.
Sleeping lion cubs - Mara Triangle, Kenya
When you travel, you find yourself
Alone in a different way,
More attentive now
To the self you bring along,
Lilac Breasted Roller - Tsavo East National Park, Kenya
Your more subtle eye watching
You abroad; and how that meets you
Touches that part of the heart
That lies low at home:
Male lion - Mara Triangle, Kenya
How you unexpectedly attune
To the timbre in some voice,
Opening a conversation
You want to take in
To where your longing
Has pressed hard enough
Inward, on some unsaid dark,
To create a crystal of insight,
You could not have known
You needed
To illuminate
Your way.
Thirsty lizard - Laikipia, Kenya
When you travel,
A new silence
Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.
Matriarch and family - Tsavo East National Park, Kenya
A journey can become a sacred thing.
Verreaux Eagle, Tsavo East NationaL Park, Kenya
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
Massai Giraffe & Ox Pecker, Tsavo East National Park, Kenya
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you towards
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life;
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.
Elephant Family, Mara Triangle, Kenya
May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
Lioness, Mara Triangle, Kenya
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.
Kori Bustard mating display, Tsavo East National Park, Kenya
May you travel safely, arrive refreshed
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home, more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.
Elephant Herd, Mara Triangle, Kenya
John O’Donohue, from Benedictus: A Book of Blessings, Bantam Press, 2007
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