Living Stones: The Gift of Friendship
A blessing for connection, warmth, and belonging
“He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.” — Isaiah 40:11
I’ve always loved benedictions and blessings. There’s something sacred in the way they mark transitions—quiet words that ground us, send us, or simply remind us we’re not alone. My mother, knowing this, once gave me a book of blessings by the late Irish poet and priest John O’Donohue. One of my favorites is this one—For Friendship:
May you be blessed with good friends,
And learn to be a good friend to yourself,
Journeying to that place in your soul where
There is love, warmth, and feeling.
May this change you.May it transfigure what is negative, distant,
Or cold within your heart.May you be brought into real passion, kindness,
And belonging.May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them, be there for them,
And receive all the challenges, truth, and light you need.May you never be isolated but know the embrace
Of your anam cara.
At Wesley Glen, I’ve come to see friendship as one of the most powerful expressions of nurturing. Our neighbors have taught me new pathways of love, warmth, and feeling—often in the simplest of ways. They’ve also given me a deeper, more beautiful understanding of what belonging really means.
Friendship here isn’t transactional or rushed. It’s steady. Joyful. Patient. And sacred. And in it, we find that nurturing is not only about care—it’s about connection, presence, and walking with one another in love.
A moment of honesty - when I first read this, I had no idea what anam cara meant. These two words placed at the end of his blessing open up a much deeper meaning.
Anam Cara is a Gaelic term meaning “soul friend.” It comes from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition.
In this tradition, an anam cara is more than a close friend—it’s someone with whom you can share your innermost self, someone who sees you fully and walks with you through life with deep love, honesty, and spiritual companionship. It’s a relationship rooted in presence, trust, and mutual transformation.
Here’s how John O’Donohue describes it:
“A friend is someone who sees the potential in you and helps you to live it.”
“The anam cara experience opens a friendship that is not wounded by separation or distance.”
So when he writes, “May you never be isolated but know the embrace of your anam cara,” it’s a prayer for deep connection—a nurturing, soul-level bond that reminds us we are fully known and never alone.
Reflection Question:
Who in your life has been an anam cara—a soul friend who nurtures you through their presence and care? And how might you be that kind of nurturing friend to someone else today?
Closing Prayer:
Thank You for the soul friends who walk beside us—the ones who see us, hear us, and remind us we belong. Help us to nurture those around us not only with care, but with companionship. May we become anam cara to one another—offering presence, warmth, and love that reflects Your heart. And in every friendship, may we find Your gentle embrace.