I was gifted this poem by a friend, Alec, after completing our graduate studies at the GSD. Graduation meant facing a reality I hoped to postpone by going to graduate school; but after five semesters of courses and projects, I ended up with more questions than answers, and thus feeling even less equipped to consider the question, what next?
While exploring this question with Alec, he told me about this poem. He explained that Native Hawaiians use the word ho’i to refer to a Homecoming – to return to a place of warmth and nurture. He suggested that whatever I do next should feel like a Homecoming.
This suggestion transformed how I think about many facets of life. My hope is that more people pursue paths where their heart can be tranquil, and where healing and growth…and dignity prevail…where patience of spirit is praised… Perhaps this is one of the simplest and most tangible ways one can truly contribute to a better society.
Wherever you end up (a new job…a new place to live…a new relationship – whatever the context), may it be a place of unconditional nurture and authenticity. : )
命どぅたから[uchinaaguchi] Life is a Treasure => things like money and status don't matter.
For a New Home
by John O'Donnahue
May this house shelter your life.
When you come home here,
May all the weight of the world
Fall from your shoulders.
May your heart be tranquil here,
Blessed by peace the world cannot give.
May this home be a lucky place,
Where the graces your life desires
Always find the pathway to your door.
May nothing destructive
Ever cross your threshold.
May this be a safe place
Full of understanding and acceptance,
Where you can be as you are,
Without the need of any mask
Of pretense or image.
May this home be a place of discovery,
Where the possibilities that sleep
In the clay of your soul can emerge
To deepen and refine your vision
For all that is yet to come to birth.
May it be a house of courage,
Where healing and growth are loved,
Where dignity and forgiveness prevail;
A home where patience of spirit is prized,
And the sight of the destination is never lost
Though the journey be difficult and slow.
May there be great delight around this hearth.
May it be a house of welcome
For the broken and diminished.
May you have the eyes to see
That no visitor arrives without a gift
And no guest leaves without a blessing.