John O Donohue Quotes

“Silence is the voice of the mystery. Silence let us dream again.”
― John O'Donohue, Four Elements: Reflections on Nature

“All the animals and creatures of this earth are our former brothers and sisters but because we believe that we have "dominion" over them, we have become cruel little emperors.”
― John O'Donohue, Four Elements: Reflections on Nature

“I would love to live
Like a river flows
Carried by the surprise
Of its own unfolding - Fluent”
― John O'Donohue, Four Elements: Reflections on Nature

“This earth is the only constant in our lives. It has been here for millions of years before us. It was his gift to unearth its riches; that this "human-come-lately" is but the latest link in the chain of evolution.

We must become aware of our present stage of "becoming" and to do this we need to look back at our history.”
― John O'Donohue, Four Elements: Reflections on Nature

“The interplay between farmers and the elements was a poem without words, the echo which would always return to him.
The air could hold the "breeze of the rain" or the "wind of warmth" to the discerning nose.
The stone carved its memory deep into the hands that chiseled it.
Fire was life in the hearth which was the center of home.
Water introduced itself to us from its most natural source in streams and wells.”
― John O'Donohue, Four Elements: Reflections on Nature

“Entering into and opening to our inherent spacious soul daily allows a natural liberation of our manifold self-identifications to occur, and it is then that we can truly rest in the sacredness and come to know our ground of being. The great Celtic writer John O’Donohue points to this when he says that “behind the façade of your life, there is something beautiful and eternal happening.”
― Meghan Don, The New Divine Feminine: Spiritual Evolution for a Woman's Soul

“A horizon is something towards which we move, but it's also something that moves along with us - Hans Georg Gadamer (Truth and Method)”
― John O'Donohue, Four Elements: Reflections on Nature

“To young mind, work seemed to be the price that was gladly paid for the privilege of living so closely with the earth. Work was a real conversation with the landscape. It was not an abuse or raiding of the landscape. It was amazing to learn how to work in this context.”
― John O'Donohue, Four Elements: Reflections on Nature