The late John O'Donohue
.
ANAM
CARA
.
John
O’ Donohue the poet and philosopher has died suddenly at age 53 while on holiday
in the South of France.A former priest, he was best known as author of Anam Cara
(A friend of the soul) a compendium of Celtic wisdom for the pilgrim soul
drawing on influences as diverse as Yeats and Heidegger with more than a passing
nod to Christianity. He was once described as “ a poetic priest with the soul of
a pagan.” He was a compelling speaker and many times I heard him espousing his
spiritual philosophy on the radio, always doing it with an enthusiasm and
freshness that whether you agreed or not, made it compelling listening. He had a
degree in philosophy and English literature and did his PhD on Hegel, his keen
intellect informing his writings while his poets eye constantly evoked the
beauty and pathos of the natural world around him.He seemed to straddle a path
somewhere between the Christian mystic tradition and a New Age sensibility which
made his work appeal to a wide and disparate audience.He lived in a cottage in
the west of Ireland and spoke Irish as his native language, and was an active
campaigner against the proposed Burren interpretative centre. Most recently I
heard him speaking on the Marian Finucane show on RTE radio, where he spoke
about the deep centre of Christmas and the space that it creates after all the
hoo hah to discover that stillness within, often presenting itself as a sense of
loss or longing.His most recent publication was a book of Blessings, a
collection of his poems/prayers to mark different stages in our lives. The
Blessing below is taken from an earlier book, ‘Echoes of Memory’
-GOSh
Beannacht("Blessing")
On the day
when
the weight
deadens
on your
shoulders
and you
stumble,
may the clay
dance
to balance you.
And when
your eyes
freeze
behind
the grey
window
and the ghost of
loss
gets in to
you,
may a flock of
colours,
indigo, red,
green,
and azure
blue
come to awaken
in you
a meadow of
delight.
When the
canvas frays
in the currach
of thought
and a stain of
ocean
blackens beneath
you,
may there come
across the waters
a path of yellow
moonlight
to bring you
safely home.
May the
nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity
of light be yours,
may the fluency
of the ocean be yours,
may the
protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a
slow
wind work these
words
of love around
you,
an invisible
cloak
to mind your
life.
.
John
O'Donohue
~ Echoes of
Memory ~
Kurz vor seinem plötzlichen Tod am 4.1.2008 hatte ich eine bewegende Begegnung mit John O'Donohue anlässlich einer Lesung hier in Berlin.
Seine Bücher - vor allem "Anam Cara" - waren nach Florians Tod auf meiner Suche nach Trost, Verstehen des Nichtverstehbaren, Worten für das Unaussprechliche - ständige Begleiter geworden. Verschiedentlich hatte ich versucht, Kontakt zu ihm in Irland aufzunehmen. Vergeblich. Dann eine Lesung hier und ich nahm nicht nur "Anam Cara" mit, um es signieren zu lassen, sondern auch Florian und mein Buch, um es ihm zu schenken und ihn zu bitten, es mitzunehmen nach "Flori-Land".
Er schien berührt und wir wechselten einige Worte und er nahm das Buch gerne an sich und versprach, mir später etwas dazu zu schreiben... was er nicht tat, was ich aber verstand und ihm nicht übel nahm... Immerhin kam "FLORIAN geb. 1976" auf diesem Weg nach Irland!
Sein Tod hat mich bestürzt, war es doch der Tod, den auch Florian gestorben ist...
Noch immer haben wir vor, sein Grab in Irland zu besuchen.
Craggagh Graveyard: John’s resting place is about four
kilometers down from the Fanore church, following the coast road in the
direction of Doolin, famous as a center of traditional Irish music and culture
