John O’Donohue’s To Bless the Space Between Us
When naming his book of blessings To Bless the Space Between Us, it was surely not John O’Donohue’s intent to reflect on the space created between humans during a time of social distancing. And, when we chose this as a book club title back in January, it was not our expectation that we would be daily aware of such a space.
Yet, here we are, separated by time, by space, by mask, by ideology, by fear, by loss, by one obstacle after another, perhaps making this a most fitting little volume for such a tumultuous time.
The poet O’Donohue reflects that our culture is often “haunted and lost” and that what we look at as progress has “cut away a huge region of human tissue and webbing that held us in communion with one another. We have fallen out of belonging. Consequently, when we stand before crucial thresholds in our lives, we have no rituals to protect, encourage, and guide us as we cross over into the unknown. For such crossings we need to find new words.”
Those new words, he suggests, can be found in blessing. O’Donohue offers a timely collection of interfaith blessings for “seven rhythms of the human journey: beginnings, desires, thresholds, homecomings, states of heart, callings, and beyond endings.”
Join us for a weekly discussion in June on John O’Donohue’s To Bless the Space Between Us. We’ll be reading on the schedule below:
June 10: Introduction, Beginnings (Ch. 1) & Desires (Ch. 2)
June 17: Thresholds (Ch. 3), Homecomings (Ch. 4) & States of Heart (Ch. 5)
June 24: Callings (Ch. 6), Beyond Endings (Ch. 7) & To Retrieve the Lost Art of Blessing
Photo by Noel Feans, Creative Commons via Flickr. Post by Will Willingham.
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Maureen says
A wonderful go-to book that I have quoted from repeatedly when I needed something special for a friend on a particular occasion. I’ve recommended this and other O’Donohue books to many people. This one sits right ready at hand by my desk. O’Donohue’s spiritual background (he was a priest), ability to “talk philosophy” without sounding academic, and his immense humanity all have something to do with his ability to write such comforting and healing poems, I’m sure.
And for those who are fans of both (and I am), Krista Tippett interviewed O’Donohue. The interview is easily found at onbeing[dot] org.
Maureen says
I call them poems but should point out O’Donohue does not and he draws a distinction between the two.
Bethany R. says
What a fitting book for this time. I haven’t read the book yet but wonder, what blessings can we extend to each other even today? Maybe the offer to listen to someone share their ache? Or if one needs the focus on something else, spotlighting a simple pleasure we see out our window?
Laura Lynn Brown says
Maybe sometimes a reassurance in the face of self-doubt? Someone today apologized for not being a good hostess, and I noted specific ways I thought she had been an excellent hostess. Just what I needed. But not what she assumed I might have expected. People bless me this way sometimes, in reflecting back to me a more generous, kinder view of something I have fretted about.
Megan Willome says
Since my hard copy never came in (see my By Heart post), I bought it on Kindle and started it yesterday. Yes, such a fitting book for Right Now.