{"id":423,"date":"2023-12-28T19:22:54","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T02:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/?p=423"},"modified":"2023-12-28T19:27:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T02:27:43","slug":"two-new-year-blessings-for-those-who-struggled-through-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/2023\/12\/two-new-year-blessings-for-those-who-struggled-through-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Two New Year Blessings For Those Who Struggled Through 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Blessing No. 1<\/h2>\n (By yours truly)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Centuries after the Italian painter Caravaggio finished one of his earliest masterpieces, The Cardships<\/a><\/i>, infrared imaging revealed that he\u2019d made several significant changes along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n Though the painting is large and dramatic, the naked eye can\u2019t see that:<\/span><\/p>\n \nThe playing cards moved from their original placement.<\/span><\/li>\nOne of the figures\u2019 hands shifted position.<\/span><\/li>\n Stripes on a piece of clothing diverged from their initial trajectory.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n* ** In the art world, alterations such as these have a name: They\u2019re called pentimenti<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n ** Interestingly, \u201cpentimenti\u201d comes from the Latin word meaning \u201crepent.\u201d It refers to visible traces in an artwork that show where the artist changed their mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a7<\/p>\n ** At the start of 2023, you may have been joyfully approaching the new year as if it were a blank canvas. But then something \u2014 whatever it may have been \u2014 grabbed ahold of your paintbrush and seemingly smeared over each of those initial strokes.<\/span><\/p>\n ** Unprecedented global temperatures and natural disasters: <\/span>smear<\/span><\/i>. Devastating and deadly wars: <\/span>smudge<\/span><\/i>. Ongoing physical and psychological aftereffects of the pandemic: <\/span>stain<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n ** Heartbreak, loss, addiction, mental illness\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n ** From your perspective, the resulting painting may look less like a minor alteration from the original and more like death by a thousand strokes.<\/p>\n ** However, the concept of pentimenti shows us that \u2014 rather than shame, regret, or even starting anew \u2014 repentance simply means to go another way<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** T<\/span>hese underlying layers are not futile, nor should they be classified as mistakes. Rather, they add to the impact of the painting\u2019s final form. It\u2019s a lifelong process of creation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a7<\/p>\n ** The New Year doesn\u2019t magically grant you a new canvas, but it does<\/em> provide a chance to reflect on the evolution of your life\u2019s handiwork. <\/span>A chance to admire all the times you\u2019ve struggled to put paint to paper but did<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n ** Y<\/span>ou not only survived the pain but you used it to create something of beauty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** And here\u2019s the thing: If the divine voice inside you is gently nudging you to go another way, you can.<\/p>\n ** May you marvel at how far you\u2019ve come, delight in the dimension you added this year, and then dip your brush into a brand-new color.<\/p>\n ** *\u00a0<\/p>\n Blessing No. 2<\/h2>\n (By the late John O\u2019Donahue<\/a>, an Irish teacher and poet)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n BEANNACHT<\/strong><\/p>\n For Josie<\/strong><\/p>\n On the day when*** \nThe weight deadens \nOn your shoulders \nAnd you stumble, \nMay the clay dance ***\nTo balance you.<\/p>\n And when your eyes*** \nFreeze behind \nThe grey window \nAnd the ghost of loss \nGets in to you, \nMay a flock of colours, \nIndigo, red, green, \nAnd azure blue, \nCome to awaken in you ***\nA meadow of delight.<\/p>\n When the canvas frays*** \nIn the currach of thought \nAnd a stain of ocean \nBlackens beneath you, \nMay there come across the waters \nA path of yellow moonlight ***\nTo bring you safely home.<\/p>\n May the nourishment of the earth be yours,*** \nMay the clarity of light be yours, \nMay the fluency of the ocean be yours, ***\nMay the protection of the ancestors be yours.<\/p>\n And so may a slow*** \nWind work these words \nOf love around you, \nAn invisible cloak ***\nTo mind your life.<\/p>\n [Note:<\/em>\u00a0\u201cBeannacht\u201d is the Gaelic word for \u201cblessing.\u201d A \u201ccurrach\u201d is a large boat used on the west coast of Ireland.]\n<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Blessing No. 1 (By yours truly) Centuries after the Italian painter Caravaggio finished one of his earliest masterpieces, The Cardships, infrared imaging revealed that he\u2019d made several significant changes along the way. Though the painting is large and dramatic, the naked eye can\u2019t see that: The playing cards moved from their original placement. One of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5007,"featured_media":432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,156,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christianity","category-new-year","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo New Year Blessings For Those Who Struggled Through 2023<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Read this two blessings if you're heading into 2024 with burdens on your back.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/2023\/12\/two-new-year-blessings-for-those-who-struggled-through-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two New Year Blessings For Those Who Struggled Through 2023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Read this two blessings if you're heading into 2024 with burdens on your back.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/2023\/12\/two-new-year-blessings-for-those-who-struggled-through-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Claire Mainprize\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-29T02:22:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-29T02:27:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1773\/2023\/12\/gabriel-tovar-LIM3_XTo_5w-unsplash-3333-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claire Mainprize\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claire Mainprize\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/2023\/12\/two-new-year-blessings-for-those-who-struggled-through-2023\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/2023\/12\/two-new-year-blessings-for-those-who-struggled-through-2023\/\",\"name\":\"Two New Year Blessings For Those Who Struggled Through 2023\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-29T02:22:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-29T02:27:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/#\/schema\/person\/c422fe473bc642b9f704a4114445c11b\"},\"description\":\"Read this two blessings if you're heading into 2024 with burdens on your back.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/2023\/12\/two-new-year-blessings-for-those-who-struggled-through-2023\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/2023\/12\/two-new-year-blessings-for-those-who-struggled-through-2023\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/2023\/12\/two-new-year-blessings-for-those-who-struggled-through-2023\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Two New Year Blessings For Those Who Struggled Through 2023\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/\",\"name\":\"Claire Mainprize\",\"description\":\"Claire Mainprize's column explores the intersections of pop culture, women's issues, and spirituality through a millennial exvangelical lens.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/clairemainprize\/#\/schema\/person\/c422fe473bc642b9f704a4114445c11b\",\"name\":\"Claire Mainprize\",\"description\":\"Claire Mainprize is a writer, editor, and Enneagram 4 based out of Colorado's Front Range. 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