“The human eye adores gazing; it feasts on the wild beauty of new landscapes, the dignity of trees, the tenderness of a human face, or the white sphere of the moon blessing the earth in a circle of light.”
I keep John O’Donohue’s beautiful book Anam Cara near me in the office. When I lose inspiration to write or when my head is too full of emails and the stresses of business, I like to open it randomly and read this Celtic Wisdom. Today it fell on the chapter entitled:
Ageing: the Beauty of the Inner Harvest
It is so relevant to the business of ANU; even our name is taken from the Goddess Anu, Mother of the Tuatha De Danann, the good fairy people of the underworld of Nature – which was also considered the Heavenly world by the Celts.
I find it interesting that today, while I contemplate the partnership we forged this year with mandala artist Patricia from Healing Creations, that the words I read concern the magic of circles. The shop we share in Dublin’s Marlay Park courtyard is full of her magnificent mandalas, spiritually inspired circles within circles and bursting with new images for the human eye to gaze upon. Around them, we move confidently into the skin of ourselves; knowing what we are, what we offer and how we can do it better.
The year is a cycle of course, and as 2018 draws to a close I’m reminded of an exercise I did last January, when I drew my intentions for the coming year. Many of those intentions have come to pass, and since there is only a matter of weeks left to achieve the rest, I’m desperately trying to tick everything off! Which is why I love to read these words:
“Part of the wisdom of spiritual soulful self-presence is to be able to let certain aspects of your life alone. This is the art of spiritual non-interference. Yet other aspects of your life call urgently for your attention; they call to you as their shelterer, to come and harvest them. You can discern where these wounds are in the temple of memory, then visit them in a gentle and mindful way. The one kind of creative presence you could bring to these areas is compassion. Some people can be very compassionate to others, but exceptionally harsh with themselves. One of the qualities that you can develop, particularly in your older years, is a sense of great compassion for your self.”
And so, as the circle of this current year closes upon itself, I am reminded not to judge myself too harshly. I’ve done enough for now and next year is a new blank slate. I’m another year older and I have been harvesting wonderful things!
See more about setting goals and envisioning your desired future through Drawing Solutions with www.upyourcreativegenius.com
Read Anam Cara, Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World by John O’Donohue
Visit us in our shop in Unit 7 Courtyard Studios, Marlay Park, Rathfarnham.
I once had cause to spend two weeks in a neurology ward in Beaumont Hospital. The women in my ward bonded in a way that was tangible, mainly because of our concern and I suppose, love for an extraordinary woman called Alice, who was gravely ill with a brain tumour and very close to death. She was one of the most gentle souls I ever encountered and she became the hub of our attention as she crept ever closer to the end of her life. Like many women of her generation, she didn’t want to bother the nurses, and so it often turned to the rest of us during her sleepless nights to keep her as comfortable as we could manage. Although she was elderly, it was as if we were sitting with a young frightened soul, ready to return to Heaven.
Am I the only one suffering from brittle nails? I swear this extended Winter is to blame!