For the Traveler

Here’s an excerpt from a beautiful blessing that my friend Kathleen shared with me last night. I offer it to all who are traveling at this time of year.

. . . A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.

May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wail along the way to transform you.

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.

– John O’Donohue
To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings
Double Day, 2008

See also the previous Wild Reed post:
The Onward Call