It's a blessing from O'Donohue's book, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings , in which he writes: The beauty of nature insists on taking its time. Everything is prepared. Nothing is rushed. The rhythm of emergence is a gradual slow beat always inching its way forward; change remains faithful to itself until the new unfolds in the full confidence of true arrival. Because nothing is abrupt, the beginning of spring nearly always catches us unawares. It is there before we see it; and then we can look nowhere without seeing it.”

In this love, you are understood as you are without mask or pretension. The superficial and functional lies and half-truths of social acquaintance fall away, you can be as you really are. Love allows understanding to dawn, and understanding is precious. Where you are understood, you are at home. Understanding nourishes belonging. When you really feel understood, you feel free to release yourself into the trust and shelter of the other person’s soul… This art of love discloses the special and sacred identity of the other person. Love is the only light that can truly read the secret signature of the other person’s individuality and soul. Love alone is literate in the world of origin; it can decipher identity and destiny. If I were only able to take three poems with me for the rest of my life, this would be one of them, from Irish poet and philosopher John O'Donohue:This afternoon, I recorded a short tribute of my own which will be broadcast as part of a montage of tributes tomorrow on Radio 4's Sunday programme. It turns out that the long interview I conducted with John in December is the last he ever gave (listen again here). On tomorrow's Sunday Sequence, I'll be talking to one of John's friends, Father Kevin Hegarty. John And Kevin were students together for seven years at Maynooth. In an article Fr Kevin wrote just before John's untimely death, he explains why John left the priesthood for the life of an independent writer. He writes: But nowhere do the beauty, mystery, and soul-sustenance of friendship come more vibrantly alive than in the 1997 masterwork Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom ( public library) by the late, great Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue (January 1, 1956–January 4, 2008), titled after the Gaelic for “soul-friend”— a beautiful concept that elegantly encapsulates what Aristotle and Emerson and Lewis articulated in many more words. Anam Cara is a soul-stretching read in its entirety, exploring such immutable human concerns as love, work, aging, and death through the timeless lens of ancient Celtic wisdom. Complement it with poet and philosopher David Whyte on the true meaning of friendship, love, and heartbreak, then treat yourself to O’Donohue’s magnificent On Being conversation with Krista Tippett — one of the last interviews he gave before his sudden and tragic death. Mine would be: "May you feel the warmth that I have felt. May it flow like a river through your life." From this decision has flowed a career of sparkling lectures and thought-provoking books. He has an audience that spans a huge range of human experience from ageing nuns to exuberant eco-warriors.

I will offer a prayer, a blessing, a gentle way of being with all of this. One that supports my nervous system, my heart and my soul, planetary consciousness and beyond. Blessing for Courage by John O’Donohue

Solutions-Oriented Peace Journalism

But AMM Ministers don’t just marry people. When they choose to, their roles can extend much further, supporting their communities in important ways, and celebrating not just new beginnings, but endings, too. This deserves to be highlighted. Many people have already paid tribute to the priest and writer John O'Donohue, who died last week. John was buried today in county Clare. One of the most moving tributes I've read was written by Gareth Higgins. Gareth was a close friend of John's and introduced me to him a couple of years ago. I'm glad that he was able to travel to county Clare for the service. John, an Irish Catholic priest, with a gentle turn of phrase and wonderful insight, made a great impact in Celtic spirituality circles in the last 15 years or so, becoming a Greenbelt favourite. Sadly, he died suddenly, and unexpectedly last year, aged just 52 – but not without leaving us some gems. John O’Donohue (1 Jan 1956 – 4 Jan 2008) was an Irish poet, author, priest, and Hegelian philosopher. He was a native Irish speaker, and as an author is best known for popularising Celtic spirituality. (Wikipedia)

O’Donohue was a contemporary Irish priest, poet, author, and philosopher, who spent much of his life studying Celtic spirituality. His inspired words have brought comfort to many over the years. Then, become an ordained minister online with AMM and learn how to celebrate life rites in your community, including funerals, weddings, handfastings, and other blessings. In the Celtic tradition, there is a beautiful understanding of love and friendship. One of the fascinating ideas here is the idea of soul-love; the old Gaelic term for this is anam cara. Anam is the Gaelic word for soul and cara is the word for friend. So anam cara in the Celtic world was the “soul friend.” In the early Celtic church, a person who acted as a teacher, companion, or spiritual guide was called an anam cara. It originally referred to someone to whom you confessed, revealing the hidden intimacies of your life. With the anam cara you could share your inner-most self, your mind and your heart. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. When you had an anam cara, your friendship cut across all convention, morality, and category. You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the “friend of your soul.” The Celtic understanding did not set limitations of space or time on the soul. There is no cage for the soul. The soul is a divine light that flows into you and into your Other. This art of belonging awakened and fostered a deep and special companionship. Illustration by Maurice Sendak from Let’s Be Enemies by Janice May UdryWhen our responses are grounded in Love, in meditation, mindfulness, and prayer, we all have a greater resonance for right-action or non-action. Both might be useful. In my life, it’s often been those little pauses, some minutes, some seconds, and some fractions of a second that have helped me keep a level head and a grateful heart. Without the pauses, I can easily fall into panic and overwhelm. I’m built that way. Without the pauses, I drop into old habits and ways of doing, thinking and responding. I can easily abandon flow, trust and being. The pauses allow grace in. I’m going to write that again … give it space. Many people are addicted to perfection, and in their pursuit of the ideal, they have no patience with vulnerability. (...) This poem, by John O’Donohue, honors the grief of losing someone so dear to our heart, while celebrating the memory of a vibrant life well lived.