I have been reading "Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World" by John O'Donohue. The book is described as "a rare synthesis of philosophy, poetry and spirituality" and begins with some thoughts about friendship (anam cara means 'soul friend'). This quotation is typical of O'Donohue's writing:
"A friend is a loved one who awakens your life in order to free the wild possibilities within you."
John O'Donohue (Irish poet, philosopher; see www.johnodonohue.com).
Additional Thoughts
"You can depend upon a friend… Between friends there rules only the promise to walk with each other and to be there for each other, in other words, a faithfulness that has to do not with acting and possessing but with the individual person and with being. Friendship is then a deep human relation that arises out of freedom, consists in mutual freedom, and preserves this freedom."
Jürgen Moltmann (theologian; from 'The Open Church', SCM Press, 1978).
Such friends are very different from the majority of 'friends' we may have in Facebook. Friendship described by John O'Donohue and Jurgen Moltmann have something of the divine within them:
"Jesus said…'I have called you friends.' "
The Bible (John 15:15).
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