The Anam Cara

"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.

In the early Celtic Church, a person who acted as a teacher, companion or spiritual guide was called an anam cara. With the anam cara you could share your innermost self, your mind your heart. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging.

You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the ´friend of your soul’. This art of belonging awakened and fostered a deep and special companionship. In this love, you were understood as you are without mask or pretension.

Love allows understanding to dawn, and understanding is precious. Understanding nourishes belonging. When you really fell understood, you feel free to release your self into the trust and shelter of the other person’s soul*."

Today, Valentine’s Day, celebrate love taking the teachings from the Celtic culture and bring them into our daily lives, and awaken the anam cara who lives within us, around us, with us, and which most of times we are too busy to aknowledge.

Nourish the anam cara within you and celebrate love every day, forever.

T

*Extract from Anam Cara – The Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World by John O’Donohue