I heard this poem read on a Friday evening of the very first writing retreat I attended in Point Reyes in the winter of 2015. The wind was howling outside, rain poured sideways in heavy waves across the open fields, and we sat huddled around a wood-burning stove with our journals and down jackets. I remember in that moment feeling the comfort and warmth in O’Donohue’s words.

This Christmas, my friend gifted me the book Anam Cara by John O’Donohue. As I stretched out on my comfortable ottoman and opened the book, this poem greeted me. It brought me back to that dark and rainy night, sitting in an oversized plush armchair, surrounded by other hungry writers. We listened to these lovely words read by the flickering fire, open to the possibility of a blank page and excited to discover our rich inner worlds that awaited us.

Here’s to 2022.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours. May the clarity of light be yours.