I never really know what to say at these times so I’ll leave it to John O’Donohue. Read or listen, and thank you for joining me in the shed throughout 2023. I wish you all good things as another year arrives on the horizon.
At The End of the Year As this year draws to its end, We give thanks for the gifts it brought And how they became inlaid within Where neither time nor tide can touch them. The days when the veil lifted And the soul could see delight; When a quiver caressed the heart In the sheer exuberance of being here. Surprises that came awake In forgotten corners of old fields Where expectation seemed to have quenched. The slow, brooding times When all was awkward And the wave in the mind Pierced every sore with salt. The darkened days that stopped The confidence of the dawn. Days when beloved faces shone brighter With light from beyond themselves; And from the granite of some secret sorrow A stream of buried tears loosened. We bless this year for all we learned, For all we loved and lost And for the quiet way it brought us Nearer to our invisible destination. John O'Donohue from Benedictus, To Bless the Space Between Us