Anam Cara and Valentines

I have an anam cara! What better Valentine than that?

Anam cara is Celtic for "soul friend". A soul friend is one who is sensitive to the soul of another. It's a deep friendship that takes in the essence of who you are; sees that part of you that isn't visible yet makes you uniquely you.

Perhaps it is essential that everyone have an anam cara for I wonder how well we can actually ever know ourselves. We are so very complex and our minds are sometimes so very simple. We can only see our physical selves in photographs; mirrors show us reversed images and therefore cannot be counted as accurate. We can't see our souls at all causing people to debate what they are and even if they exist. To some, the soul is interchangeable with the mind; to others the soul is interchangeable with the personality or the spirit. I don't know what I believe about the soul- I don't think it's the mind but I know it exists because sometimes it hurts. I think that soul pain is probably the most painful type of pain- deeper than physical pain or mental anguish.

And so then, how necessary to have an anam cara- one who can "see" my soul for me. And with that ability comes great responsibility. If I can see someone's soul- the very thing that defines who they are- and they are unable to see it, I have the responsibility to reveal it back to them- to show them the rough places, to help them polish, to guide them as they learn about it. And this, according to Celtic tradition, is the responsibility of an anam cara; to see my soul, communicate with it, reveal it back to me, hold me accountable for making it the best possible.

Someone who knows me better than I know myself. Someone who only wants what's best for me. Someone who will hold me accountable when I don't measure up- when I miss the mark. And when I fail miserably they sense my contrition and hold me, love me... forgive me.

So you want an anam cara, you say?

I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! John 14:16-17 (The Message)

Happy Valentine's Day.