Filed under: Inspiration
by John O’Donohue
May you have the grace and wisdom
To act kindly, learning
To distinguish between what is
Personal and what is not.
May you be hospitable to criticism.
May you never put yourself at the centre of things.
May you act not from arrogance but out of service.
May you work on yourself,
Building up and refining the ways of your mind.
May those who work for you know
You see and respect them.
May you learn to cultivate the art of presence
In order to engage with those who meet you.
When someone fails or disappoints you,
May the graciousness with which you engage
Be their stairway to renewal and refinement.
May you treasure the gifts of the mind
Through reading and creative thinking
So that you continue as a servant of the frontier
Where the new will draw its enrichment from the old,
And you never become functionary.
May you know the wisdom of deep listening,
The healing of wholesome words,
The encouragement of the appreciative gaze,
The decorum of held dignity,
The springtime edge of the bleak question.
May you have a mind that loves frontiers
So that you can evoke the bright fields
That lie beyond the view of the regular eye.
May you have good friends
To mirror your blind spots.
May leadership be for you
A true adventure of growth.
© John O’Donohue. All rights reserved. For more info, please see http://www.johnodonohue.com.
2 Comments so far
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It is so great to see how John’s work continues to weave “words of love . . . an invisible cloak, to mind your life.” I want to support you in sharing that inspiration and love; and I am also responsible for minding the technicalities connected with the preservation of John’s estate and literary legacy.
John’s family would be very grateful if you would add to your quote a note that gives the title of the book from which the poem is quoted, as well as the copyright attribution ( © John O’Donohue. All rights reserved). It would also be great if you could provide a link to the web site: http://www.johnodonohue.com — so that those who want to know more about John can come to us?
warmly and with gratitude,
Lindaa
Hello Linda,
My intention was to honor John’s work by crediting him with his name; I am happy to add the website to the blog post. Thank you for the opportunity to share more about his work.
With good energy ~
Lynn
Comment by creativecatalyst 03.07.10 @ 3:00 pmLeave a comment
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