When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it
breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like an endless,
increasing weight,
The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in
your stride before
Now become labor some events of will.
Weariness invades your
spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.
The tide
you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something
within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.
You
have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has
relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to
receive the self
You have forsaken for the race of days.
At first your
thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of
unwept tears will frighten you.
You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now
your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses,open up
To all
the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of
rain
When it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time
to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside
the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle
with yourself.
Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around
someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually, you
will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the
joy that dwells far within slow time.
John O'Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings
