Trusting the Rhythm of Your Own Becoming
"At the heart of emptiness, we can discover secret landscapes of nourishment, imagination and spirit."John O’Donohue, Ireland interview, 2006
When Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue died suddenly in January 2008, the world lost a brilliant mind paired with a depth and goodness that refreshed the spirit. That loss makes the gift of his voice expressing his unique perspective even more precious now. This interview by award-winning writer Diane Covington-Carter took place at the end of O’Donohue’s ten-day retreat in Ireland, May 2006. O’Donohue invited participants to search out the lost or silent parts of themselves and to explore ways of healing their relationship with time--to come home again to their own rhythm.
Some of the topics covered in this interview:
- Modern culture’s fierce hunger for spirit
- Invoking and reawakening the ideal of true citizenship
- Reclaiming our religious traditions in the name of our new questions
- Discovering the heart of creativity
- The Catholic Church’s attitudes toward the feminine
- Approaching the question: ‘How should I be?’
And as always, listening to John O’Donohue, there’s the reminder to remain grateful and present to the wonder, magic and mystery that life offers to us, moment by moment.
The Voyage of the Question
“There is a destiny for everyone, a deeply engraved signature and script in individuality, and when we arrive here, we are unfolding from within ourselves what is in us.”
John O’Donohue, Oregon Interview, 2004
Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue’s words comfort, challenge and illuminate some of the deepest questions related to living a meaningful life today.In this interview, full of stories from his childhood and references from his study of philosophy and travels all over the world, O’Donohue, in his lyrical and sometimes humorous style, covers such powerful topics as:
- The keys to a mystical life: solitude, stillness and silence
- The relationship between destiny, providence and freedom
- The role of gentleness and tenderness in your life
- The magic trio of change, fear and negativity
- The power of creativity as an access to the secret form of yourself
The interview, conducted by award-winning writer Diane Covington, took place at the end of a seven-day retreat along the wild Oregon coast, fall of 2004. The focus of the retreat was: “Change as a journey of awakening, transfiguration and homecoming”.
