Blessing to Begin the Day

A spiritual practice for morning:

Pause at the beginning of the day to bless whatever will emerge in the day that lies ahead.  This blessing (“A Morning Offering”) from Irish poet, author, priest and philosopher John O’Donohue may be a good choice to read, or even to pray out loud to start your day:

I bless the night that nourished my heart
To set the ghosts of longing free
Into the flow and figure of dream
That went to harvest from the dark
Bread for the hunger no one sees.

All that is eternal in me
Welcomes the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.

I place on the altar of dawn:
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Waves of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

                                                   ~ John O’Donohue ~

                                                   from: “To Bless the Space Between Us”