Sometimes the best way of caring for your soul is to make flexible again some of the views that harden and crystallize in your mind; for these alienate you from your own depth and beauty. Creativity seems to demand flexible and measured tension.
- John O'Donohue
This quote, and the whole of John O'Donohue's writings in his book Anam Cara have been so helpful to me. I struggle to be creative in the way I enjoy the most (writing) when I am distracted. When I struggle with that, I feel like I have less to offer and feel distant from my true core. O'Donohue reminds me that I need to remember to be flexible. My creativity can happen anywhere, even amidst a busy or distracted time. It is important to keep the important times of stillness. At the heart of it, we all need that, but most of us stay busy all the time.
His gentle way of writing nudges me to acknowledge that the world may spin around me, but I can still be able to venture forth into the realm of imagination and creativity. I felt excited just reading that. May these thoughts seep into my mind. The ancient Celtic ways are what O'Donohue introduces into this modern world, and it has been so enlightening, as I peak into the world of Celtic practices. He writes about (just a tiny sampling) the need for solitude, thankfulness in prayer for daily things, harmony between the land and thought, the appreciation of nature and acknowledgement that the natural world is at one with the spiritual. I must have some Celtic core in me, because this all seems so much as I prefer and seek.
We see everything through the lens of thought. The way that you think determines what you will actually discover.
I find myself underlining a lot in this book, partly because it is somehow familiar and I already trust in that truth, and partly because I need that deep truth revealed to me again, and it has hit that spot of my soul that needed the reminding. Some of the pages hold insight from ancient practices and stories that are new to me.
It is lovely to imagine that real divinity is the presence in which all beauty, unity, creativity, darkness and negativity are harmonized.
What a fluid and real reminder that our lives are not just peachy thoughts trying to get noticed out under the sunshine. There is often a darkness present, and a negativity too, but when given over to God, a harmony can be made from all the messy bits we cannot seem to muddle through. Hence, we have frequent bouts of muddy musings. When handed over to God, He can bring beauty out of the mess we are.
I reflect in joy of this reminder, for I feel my thoughts are often so muddled, it is only in God that they can make any sense. Oh, these Celtic viewpoint soothe my soul and cause me to ponder for a while.
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