Your soul knows the geography of your destiny. Your soul alone has the map of your future, therefore you can trust this indirect, oblique side of yourself. If you do, it will take you where you need to go, but more important it will teach you a kindness of rhythm in your journey.

O’Donohue frames the “soul” as an inner intelligence that perceives one’s life-direction more truly than the calculating mind. “Geography” and “map” suggest that vocation and destiny are not abstract ideas but a lived terrain, navigated through intuition, imagination, and felt resonance. Trusting the “indirect, oblique side” implies honoring non-linear ways of knowing—dreams, longing, silence, and subtle attraction—rather than forcing life into rigid plans. The final phrase, “a kindness of rhythm,” shifts the emphasis from merely arriving at goals to traveling with humane pacing: patience, seasonal timing, and self-compassion. The quote thus advocates an inwardly guided journey marked by gentleness and attentiveness.