Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash
For some days now, I feel like there has been much I want to say. It’s been percolating beneath the surface. Try as I might, though, I can’t put the words together. They’re just not there … yet.
Instead, I’m sharing this passage about endings from John O’Donohue’s To Bless the Space Between Us. It feels particularly relevant given the year that’s been:
“… endings can be such a relief. When we suffer, we long for it to end. When we are in pain, time crawls. It also darkens and imprisons our imagination; consequently, we are unable to see beyond the suffering that plagues us. Often the greatest gift in such a situation is when someone manages to persuade the eyes of the heart to glimpse the vaguest brightening. Then the imagination takes hope from that, and constructs a path of light out of the darkness. Such endings offer great promise and bring us to the edge of new possibility. They are nascent beginnings. This is one of the fascinating characteristics of consciousness. Unlike the world of matter, in the world of spirit a whole territory that has lain fallow can become a fertile area of new potential and creativity. Time behaves differently in the domain of spirit.”
For the new year, my wish for you is an end to whatever pain and suffering you have experienced this year that has held your hope and imagination hostage. And may your spirit glimpse the light that will brighten your path, leading you from this fallow time into a period of renewed promise and inspiration.
I want you to know that although you may be feeling antsy to get through this ending so you can move onto something better (‘cause who isn’t?!), there is no need to rush. As John O’Donohue says, “Time behaves differently in the domain of spirit.” All the potential and creativity will be there waiting for you when your spirit is ready, so take your time. Rest until you’re ready to rise.
I will be honoring my own need for rest by going dark next week—no email, no social media, and only the most necessary of texts and calls. Just a lot of quiet so I can again hear the whispers of my soul.
Wishing you good health, good fortune, and happiness in the new year!
P.S. This liminal space between an ending and a new beginning is a wonderful time to let go of what is no longer serving you, creating space for what’s to come. If starting the new year slower and with more intention appeals to you, I invite you to download my free program Out with the Old—5 Days of Letting Go.