Rest In The Mystery
It is strange to be here. The mystery never leaves you alone.
John O'Donohue was an Irish poet, philosopher, and former priest whose work drew on ancient Celtic spirituality, and he opens Anam Cara, his book on soul friendship, with this very line. He wrote it not as a warning but as an invitation: to notice that no matter how carefully we plan a day, something larger than our control is always moving through it. Writing in the mid-1990s for a modern audience he saw as anxious and overscheduled, he wanted readers to loosen their grip on certainty rather than tighten it. That is why it speaks to equanimity now: steadiness does not come from knowing what is ahead, it comes from making peace with not knowing.
Reflection
O'Donohue believed peace comes from accepting mystery rather than controlling it. What part of today's plan can I hold loosely?