Anam Cara

Viewed through the metaphor of the circle, other qualities of the heart come into relief. The heart has a beautiful simultaneity, being at once the place of arrival and departure within the body. All the wearied blood arrives thereto be refreshed and renewed, and it is from this place that the newly invigorated life force sets forth. It is the place of ending that is always a new beginning. The circle is an ancient form; it signifies continuity, belonging, and permanence. It is consoling to think that at the center of the human body the heart holds one’s life within its sure circle.

The state of one’s heart inevitably shapes one’s life; it is ultimately the place where everything is decided.

• A courageous heart will go forth and engage with life despite confusion and fear.

• A fearful heart will be hesitant and will tend to hold back.

• A heavy heart will make for a gloomy, unlived life.

• A compassionate heart need never carry the burden of judgment.

• A forgiving heart knows the art of liberation.

• A loving heart awakens the spirit of possibility and engagement with others.

The power of the heart’s attitude is expressed beautifully in the New Testament: “Where your treasure is, there is your heart also.” And all through the Old Testament, God is interested only in the heart—not sacrifices, rituals, or rules—only the heart. Indeed, the mystical tradition would suggest the heart is beautiful precisely because it is where God dwells: the heart is the divine sanctuary. FOR COURAGE

When the light around you lessens

And your thoughts darken until

Your body feels fear turn

Cold as a stone inside,

When you find yourself bereft

Of any belief in yourself

And all you unknowingly

Leaned on has fallen,

When one voice commands

Your whole heart,

And it is raven dark,

Steady yourself and see

That it is your own thinking

That darkens your world,

Search and you will find

A diamond-thought of light,

Know that you are not alone

And that this darkness has purpose;

Gradually it will school your eyes

To find the one gift your life requires

Hidden within this night-corner.

Invoke the learning

Of every suffering

You have suffered.

Close your eyes.

Gather all the kindling

About your heart

To create one spark.

That is all you need

To nourish the flame

That will cleanse the dark

Of its weight of festered fear.

A new confidence will come alive

To urge you toward higher ground

Where your imagination

Will learn to engage difficulty

As its most rewarding threshold!

FOR AN EXILE

When you dream, it is always home.

You are there among your own,

The rhythm of their voices rising like song

Your blood would sing through any dark.

Then you awake to find yourself listening

To the sounds of traffic in another land.

For a moment your whole body recoils

At the strange emptiness of where you are.

This country is cold to your voice.

It is still a place without echoes.

Nothing of yours has happened here.

No one knows you,

The language slows you,

The thick accent smothers your presence.

You sound foreign to yourself;

Their eyes reflect how strange you seem

When seen across a cold distance

That has no bridge to carry

The charisma in which your friends

Delight at home.

Though your work here is hard,

It brings relief, helps your mind

In returning to the small

Bounties of your absence.

Evening is without protection;

Your room waits,

Ready to take you

Back like some convict

Who is afraid

Of the life outside.

The things you brought from home

Look back at you; out of place here

They take on lonely power.

You cringe at the thought

That someone from home

Might see you now here,

In this unsheltered room.

Now is the time to hold faithful

To your dream, to understand

That this is an interim time

Full of awkward disconnection.

Gradually you will come to find

Your way to friends who will open

Doors into a new belonging.

Your heart will brighten

With new discovery,

Your presence will unclench

And find ease,

Letting your substance

And promise be seen.

Slowly, a new world will open for you.

The eyes of your heart, refined

By this desert time, will be free

To see and celebrate the new life

For which you sacrificed everything.

FOR SOLITUDE

May you recognize in your life the presence,

power, and light of your soul.

May you realize that you are never alone,

that your soul in its brightness and belonging

connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe.

May you have respect for your individuality and difference.

May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique,

that you have a special destiny here,

that behind the facade of your life

there is something beautiful and eternal happening.

May you learn to see your self

with the same delight,

pride, and expectation

with which God sees you in every moment.

FOR AN ADDICT

On its way through the innocent night,

The moth is ambushed by the light,

Becomes glued to a window

Where a candle burns; its whole self,

Its dreams of flight and all desire

Trapped in one glazed gaze;

Now nothing else can satisfy

But the deadly beauty of flame.

When you lose the feel

For all other belonging