You are seen
The following passage was written by Texas Children’s Chaplain James Denham.
I want you to know that you are seen. Your tireless efforts are seen and heard and they are felt deeply. But I am willing to bet you may not feel as tireless as you seem. We all are feeling the drain of life as school for some approaches and others has already started, as flu season is upon us, as a pandemic draws on, and as we are faced with multiple new norms. It’s OK to acknowledge this. We truly can feel hectic and yet paralyzed. We can feel exhausted and on constant adrenaline. We can feel drained and restless.
Today, I want you to hear the words of a theologian I love deeply – John O’Donohue. O’Donohue is a gifted writer and feeler, who captures my feelings right now, but he also writes with such a deep invite to renewal beyond what I have experienced. The reality is that we may not get back to who we were, but there is a joy in what we do at Texas Children’s that can give us a greater renewal and nourishment even in these times. This is my prayer for you and for all of us here who yearn for more right now.
For One Who Is Exhausted: A Blessing
By John O’Donohue
When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
time takes on the strain until it breaks;
then all the unattended stress falls in
on the mind like an endless, increasing weight.
The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
now become laborsome events of will.
Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
dragging down every bone.
The tide you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
and you cannot push yourself back to life.
You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
and patiently learn to receive the self
you have forsaken in the race of days.
At first your thinking will darken
and sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.
You have traveled too fast over false ground;
now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses, open up
to all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of rain
when it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
that fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside the silence of stone
until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.
Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
who feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
and the joy that dwells far within slow time.