Anam Ċara

There is a place in you where you have never been wounded, where there is still a sureness in you, where there's a seamlessness in you and where there is a confidence and tranquility in you.

~ John O'Donohue, speaking on Being.

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 Ċara. Anam is the Gaelic word for soul and Ċara 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 Ċara. It originally referred to someone to whom you confessed, revealing the hidden intimacies of your life. With the Anam Ċara you could share your innermost self, your mind and your heart. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. 

In everyone's life there is great need of an Anam Ċara, 

a soul friend. 

In this love, you are understood as you are, 

without mask or pretension. 

Where you are understood, 

you are at home.

~ John O'Donohue, Anam Ċara (extract read on Being)

(Confession: this guy has exactly the same accent as Graham Norton. Kept expecting him to say something naughty.)