I was recently doing some housekeeping on my website and ran across this quote from John O’Donohue that I included in a blog post a couple years ago.
“… 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.”
It never ceases to amaze me how something I wrote about one, two, or even five years ago can be just as true today as it was then. I believe that the words we need always find us when we most need them. I needed these words because this is where I find myself now.
As I mentioned in a previous post, something (I’m not sure what) is in the process of ending. It hasn’t come to an end yet and so I am in a rather slow, suffering stage. Many things feel hard and there is a lot of fear, doubt, and insecurity. I haven’t been able to “glimpse the vaguest brightening.” And I can’t yet see or feel the hope of whatever new possibility lies ahead.
I feel like I have been in this in-between a long time. My mind is constantly scanning for solutions that will bring this suffering time to an end. My mind is antsy to get through this ending so I will get back to doing. My mind doesn’t like this liminal space of just being before the next creative urge calls my energy forth into action.
I know, though, that this time cannot be rushed and that the end will come in its own time.
Whether we like it or not, time does behave differently in the domain of spirit. I just have to trust that all the potential and creativity will be there waiting for me when my spirit is ready. As my friend Cara said, this is the time to “let the goodness find me.”
If you find yourself in a similar place, I offer this blessing to you. I wrote the original version for the new year (2022) and have updated it for anytime you’re teetering on the cusp of an ending and awaiting a new beginning.
May you find relief from whatever pain and suffering you are experiencing that is holding 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.
During these times when I’m navigating the liminal space between endings and beginnings, I find it helpful to practice the art of letting go. I call it a practice because it takes conscious effort and attention. My mind likes to hold on to the familiar and comfortable, regardless of whether or not something is good for me.
There are three things I’m working on letting go:
the image in my head of how I think things and I should be
the thoughts that tell me this time should be different than it is
the mental, emotional, and material clutter that no longer serve me
What I know from experience is that if I don’t let go of the old, there won’t be any space for the new.
Is there something you're holding onto that you need to let go of?
If you would like to practice the art of letting go and create some space for the new, I have two DIY programs you can download for free: Out with the Old—5 Days of Letting Go and Let Go, Let Love Lead.