Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom Book

"The Celtic understanding of friendship finds its inspiration and culmination in the sublime notion of the Anam ÄŠara. Anam is the Gaelic word for soul; ÄŠara is the word for friend. So Anam ÄŠara means soul friend."

John O'Donohue doesn't view the word 'friend' as casually as one might use it, and certainly not in this combination. A joining that is ancient and eternal, a place where you belonged.

"Since the birth of the human heart is an ongoing process, love is the continuous birth of creativity within and between us."

While John O'Donohue was a religious man, a poet, a philosopher, a priest, this religious thought shows itself more in the reverence for the world, a belief in the ancient wisdoms ability to offer greatly needed sustenance to those experiencing a hunger in a spiritual sense. In 2000, after writing and publishing this, Anam ÄŠara, and Eternal Echoes: Exploring our Hunger to Belong, O'Donohue retired from his priestly ministry and devoted himself to social justice. His feelings about social justice can be clearly felt in this book of Celtic wisdom.

O'Donohue speaks on many things in a reverential way - the colours, the power of nature. Thoughts on Celtic spirituality flow throughout these pages.

"Since the Celts were a nature people, the world of nature was both a presence and a companion. Nature nourished them; it was here that they felt their deepest belonging and affinity."

"When love awakens in your life, in the night of your heart, it is like the dawn breaking within you. Where before there was anonymity, now there is intimacy; where before there was fear, now there is courage; where before in your life there was awkwardness, now there is a rhythm of grace and gracefulness; where before you used to be jagged, now you are elegant and in rhythm with your self. When love awakens in your life is like a rebirth, a new beginning."

"Though the human body is born complete in one moment, the birth of the human heart is an ongoing process."

This past Autumn, I listened to John O'Donohue's "Beauty: The Invisible Embrace" , which I loved, especially as he is the narrator. I wish this had been available in an audio format, for it made the experience even more lovely, but this was lovely, nevertheless.

Quite a bit of territory is covered in this book, and while there is a sense of spirituality to this, it is not a specific "church" sense.

"It is strange to be here. The mystery never leaves you alone. Behind your image, below your words, above your thoughts, the silence of another world waits."

Moving, beautiful, philosophical, inspirational, with a reverence for the world, and the stories of each of those who inhabit our world.