Invulnerability

Invulnerability

"I am an indestructible fortress,

I am an unassailable rock,

I am a precious jewel."

    ___ from an ancient Irish prayer

for long life  (trans. CM)

   To be vulnerable means never to be wounded. Yet it is the nature of life for human beings to suffer assaults from many quarters. Our bodies endure various accidents illnesses; our emotions are roiled by fierce winds; our minds are subject to doubt, fear, delusion.

    For those on the druid path, death is not the end. The soul passes into other forms to find rebirth again and again. Similar beliefs are still held around the world in many cultures. It is only in the West, where we have disbelieved in any other reality than the apparent world, that we have an awesome terror of death. For many people today, this life is all there is or will be. No wonder they live without joy or expectation!

     Only the soul is deathless. It is indeed our indestructible fortress, our precious jewel, our unassailable rock. So where, then, is the eternal vigilance in our care of the soul? Where are the limberings, the workouts, the exercise programs, the efforts at beautification and enhancement of the soul? If we truly wish to share confidently in the invulnerability of the soul. we need to polish our jewel and peer deeply into its primordial and unassailable facets to find the beauty that cannot die.

"What are the gifts of your vulnerability?"

[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]