Mistakes - John O'Donohue

One of the qualities that you can develop, particularly
in your older years, is a sense of great compassion for
yourself.  When you visit the wounds within the temple
of memory, you should not blame yourself for making
bad mistakes that you greatly regret.  Sometimes you
have grown unexpectedly through these mistakes.
Frequently, in a journey of the soul, the most precious
moments are the mistakes.  They have brought you to
a place that you would otherwise have always avoided.
You should bring a compassionate mindfulness to your
mistakes and wounds.  Endeavor to inhabit the
rhythm you were in at that time. If you visit this
configuration of your soul with forgiveness in your heart,
it will fall into place itself.  When you forgive yourself,
the inner wounds begin to heal. You come in out of the
exile of hurt into the joy of inner belonging.

John O'Donohue
from Anam Cara

with thanks to Whiskey River

~

Photo - mistake :)

 

The Soul's Rhythm - John O'Donohue

We should not force ourselves to change by hammering
our lives into any predetermined shape.  We do not need to
operate according to the idea of a predetermined program or
plan for our lives.  Rather we need to practice a new art of
attention to our inner rhythm...  This attention brings a new
awareness of our own human and divine presence.

It is far more creative to work with the idea of mindfulness
than with the idea of will.  Too often people try to change
their lives by using the will as a kind of hammer to beat their
life into proper shape.  The intellect identifies the goal of the
program, and the will accordingly forces the life into shape.
This way of approaching the sacredness of one's own
presence is externalistic and violent.  It brings you falsely
outside of your own self and you can spend years lost in the
wilderness of your own mechanical, spiritual programs.

You can perish in a famine of your own making.

If you work with a different rhythm, you will come easily and
naturally home to your self.  Your Soul knows the geography...
  Your Soul alone has a map..., therefore you can trust this
 indirect, oblique side of your self.  If you do, it will take you

  where you need to go, but more importantly, it will teach
you a kindness of rhythm in your journey. 
There are no general principles for this art of being.
Yet the signature of this unique journey is inscribed deeply in
each Soul. If you attend to your self and seek to come into
your own presence, you will find exactly the right rhythm
for your life.  The senses are generous pathways which can
bring you home.

John O'Donohue
from Anam Cara

with thanks to The Beauty We Love

~

....belong first in your own interiority.  If you are in rhythm
with your self and connected to that deep, unique source
within, then you will never be vulnerable.
  You will be able to stand....on the ground of your
Soul, where you are at home.

John O'Donohue
from Anam Cara

~

Art - Mystic Meandering
Craypas oils done with fingers
"Ocean Splash"
2012