"I pledge my oath without boasting,
For how ever many good people we might name,
A hundred of them would not match Cerna's goodness --
If we could even call so many to mind."
____ The Metrical Dindshenchas, ed. Edward Gwynn (trans. CM)
What constitutes a good friend? Someone who is insightful, like-souled, tolerant of our failings, someone who says the right thing at the right time, someone who blesses us by her/his quiet support, someone who helps us laugh at our inflated notions, someone who mourns with us in our sad times. Friends are the sisters and brothers of our soul. But friendship is a two-way street; there are obligations on both sides.
Although the rules of friendship are unwritten, it is clear to both partners when they are broken. If we transgress against trust and confidentiality, if we allow the friendship to become one-sided or without meaningful exchange, if we fail to communicate about a misunderstanding over too long a time, if we keep something of our friend's and forget to give it back, if we presume to speak on behalf of our friend without authority, then we break the rules of friendship.
The bond of friendship is shaken by neither time nor distance. It abides beyond temporal boundaries, necessities, and unseen contingencies in profound and beautiful ways.
"Meditate upon friendship as a friend and as one who is befriended. On what are your own friendships based; how are they sustained? What do you value most in your friends?"
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]
April
"Month of April - aerial is the horizon;
Fatigued the oxen; bare the land;
Common is the visitor without an invitation."____ anon. Welsh poem
April sees the full flush of spring. This month's themes include friends, opponents, and spiritual allies; healing and care of the body and soul, the variety of spiritual approaches; bringing and meditating the otherworld; walking our own path.
Beautiful. Elegantly, but simply stated.
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