Tom Petty really hit the nail on the head when he wrote, “the waiting is the hardest part.” Patience is a skill we must practice, not something that comes naturally in us humans. Today, I am offering you something to do while you wait and practice patience.

Below you will find John O’Donohue’s poem A Blessing for Beauty. I encourage you to read it through it slowly three times and then spend some time with the journaling questions I provided.

May the beauty of your life become more visible to you, that you may glimpse your wild divinity.
May the wonders of the earth call you forth from all your small, secret prisons and set your feet free in the pastures of possibilities.
May the light of dawn anoint your eyes that you may behold what a miracle a day is.
May the liturgy of twilight shelter all your fears and darkness within the circle of ease.
May the angel of memory surprise you in bleak times with new gifts from the harvest of your vanished days.
May you allow no dark hand to quench the candle of hope in your heart.
May you discover a new generosity towards yourself, and encourage yourself to engage your life as a great adventure.
May the outside voices of fear and despair find no echo in you.
May you always trust the urgency and wisdom of your own spirit.
May the shelter and nourishment of all the good you have done, the love you have shown, the suffering you have carried, awaken around you to bless your life a thousand times.
And when love finds the path to your door may you open like the earth to the dawn, and trust your every hidden color towards its nourishment of light.
May you find enough stillness and silence to savor the kiss of God on your soul and delight in the eternity that shaped you, that holds you and calls you.
And may you know that despite confusion, anxiety and emptiness, your name is written in Heaven.
And may you come to see your life as a quiet sacrament of service, which awakens around you a rhythm where doubt gives way to the grace of wonder, where what is awkward and strained can find elegance, and where crippled hope can find wings, and torment enter at last unto the grace of serenity.
May Divine Beauty bless you

Journaling Exercise

What word or phrase caught your attention or was significant to you?

Write down the word or phrase. Reread those words.

How does it make you feel? What emotions are coming up?

Where are you feeling it in your body? How is it feeling in your body?

Ask, “God, what do you want me to do with what you’ve given me today?” The answer won’t necessarily be something life-altering, but it is possible to hear God speak into our heart in the quiet.

May peace, patience, and hope be with you today.