Anam Cara

Our Longing for Nature

Celtic spirituality reminds us that we do not live simply in our thoughts, feelings, or relationships. We belong on the earth. The rhythm of the clay and its seasons sings within our hearts. The sun warms the clay and fosters life. The moon blesses the night. In the uncluttered world of Celtic spirituality, there is a clear view of the sacrament of Nature as it brings forth visible presence. The Celts worshipped in groves in Nature and attended to the silent divinity of wild places. Certain wells, trees, animals, and birds were sacred to them. Where and what a people worship always offers a clue to where they understand the source of life to be. Most of our experience of religion happens within the walled frame of church or temple. Our God is approached through thought, word, and ritual. The Celts had no walls around their worship. Being in Nature was already to be in the Divine Presence. Nature was the theatre of the diverse dramaturgies of the divine imagination. This freedom is beautifully echoed in a later lyric poem:

Ah, blackbird, it is well for you,

Wherever in the thicket is your nest,

Hermit that sounds no bell,

Sweet, soft, fairylike is your note.

Translated by Myles Dillon

The contemplative presence of Nature is not ostentatious nor cluttered by thought. Its majesty and elegance drift into voice in the single, subtle note of the blackbird.