An Irish Blessing to Begin Our Journey

An Irish Blessing[i]

 Go n-éirí an bóthar leat

A blessing for success

“May you prosper on your journey,” or, “may your journey go well.”

“May the road rise to meet you.” Except that isn’t what the original Old Irish means. In Gaelic, a rising road is a metaphor for, “May you prosper on your journey, or, may your journey go well.” It’s a blessing for success.

There’s a second image we need to understand better, too. Being held in God’s palm cannot be for one person alone. If we can see and feel God,[ii] the Creator and life-giver, flowing in and through and around everything, filling in spaces, then God holding us all together is what makes the world go round, not holding one person separately.

☘☘☘

And so, from my ancestors, through my family, I offer this beautiful blessing for ease, grace, and prosperous living, to you and your family:

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

The sunlight of love and friendships shine warm upon your face

The rain fall soft upon the fields of your endeavors.

And until we meet again,

May God hold us in the palm of divine hands.

[i] /Guh ny-ree on boh-har lyat/

Sources:

Pronunciation and translation of original text: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMfbtFRYZ9Y

 And Niall Conway in Quora has written a beautiful meditation on this verse.

 Since there is controversy over the origin of this blessing, the earliest citation I was able to find is

Newspapers.com, 17 March 1946, Pittsburgh (PA) Sun-Telegraph, “This Is St. Patrick’s Day“ by Harry H. Schlacht, sec. 2, pg. 3, col. 3: “May we close with an old-fashioned Irish prayer:”

[ii] I also really appreciate Rami Shapiro calling this divine being the Spirit of the Universe, which permeates, supports, moves, and changes everything seen and unseen. Recovery - The Sacred Art.