Today as I was wrapping up a copy of the book ANAM CARA: A BOOK OF CELTIC WISDOM for the birthday of a dear friend, I opened it and glanced at a page randomly, and was reminded of what a rich and fully satisfying resource this book is. A year or so ago, I was given a copy of this book as a gift from a client (she was drawn to give it to me as it has my name in the title, she said), and I discovered in John O’Donohue’s words a deep current of soul-nourishing wisdom that speaks to me on many levels.
O’Donohue has written other books as well, but this one is my favorite (with his Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections on Our Yearning to Belong a close second.)
Here is a passage on self-love that I cherish:
“You can never love another person unless you are equally involved in the beautiful but difficult spiritual work of learning to love yourself. There is within each of us, at the soul level, an enriching fountain of love. In other words, you do not have to go outside yourself to know what love is. This is not selfishness, and it is not narcissism: they are negative obsessions with the need to be loved. Rather this is the wellspring of love within the heart.
“Through their need for love, people who lead solitary lives often stumble upon this great fountain. They learn to whisper awake the deep well of love within. This is not a question of forcing yourself to love yourself. It is more a question of exercising reserve, of inviting the wellspring of love that is, after all, your deepest nature, to flow through your life. When this happens, the ground that has hardened within you grows soft again. Through a lack of love everything hardens. There is nothing as lonely in the world as that which has hardened or grown cold. Bitterness and coldness are the ultimate defeat.”
(From Anam Cara, A Book of Celtic Wisdom)
It’s just the perfect gift book for anyone who is special to you, starting with yourself, of course!
Cara
Link to the book (with bit of a book description) on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Anam-Cara-Book-Celtic-Wisdom/dp/0060182792/ref=ed_oe_h
