I can’t remember how I first came to know of John O’Donohue’s book, Anam Cara, but it was published in 1997, and I bought it shortly thereafter. I’ve re-read it countless times. I encourage you to experience John O’Donohue if you haven’t already. His life story is multilayered and fascinating and led to wisdom beyond measure. Luckily for us, his wisdom was matched by his ability as a writer, poet, and philosopher.  He was an Irishman and former Catholic priest, so much of his writing comes from a Celtic spirituality of sorts - what he calls Celtic wisdom. The concept of anam cara, which in Gaelic means soul friend, spoke profoundly to me from the start. The word friend - although full of power - isn’t able to encompass the kind of kinship to which O’Donohue refers. I’ve been lucky. I have had the experience of meeting a few people who I just seemed to already know in my soul, or to whom my soul connected. It is a bond that seems natural and nourishing and deep - a connection, as O’Donohue might say, that is forged in beauty. 

One of these friends is currently in the grip of unspeakable grief. My thoughts are constantly drifting to him, and if I could hold his grief and sadness for even a few minutes, I would. It’s a helpless feeling, really, and as I considered my selfish helplessness, I thought of a poem that appears on the very first page of Anam Cara. O’Donohue wrote it for his mother upon the death of his father, and I am captivated by its depth and its imagery each time I read it. It is awash in the Celtic appreciation of our relationship to the earth and the natural world, to the ancients and to our inner selves, to beauty and to our sensual experience of being. The poem is entitled, Beannacht, which means ‘blessing’.

Beannacht

On the day when

the weight deadens

on your shoulders

and you stumble,

may the clay dance

to balance you.

And when your eyes

freeze behind

the grey window 

and the ghost of loss

gets in to you,

may a flock of colours,

indigo, red, green,

and azure blue

come to awaken in you

a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays

in the currach of thought

and a stain of ocean

blackens beneath you,

may there come across the waters

a path of yellow moonlight

to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,

may the clarity of light be yours,

may the fluency of the ocean be yours,

may the protection of the ancestors be yours.

And so may a slow

wind work these words

of love around you,

an invisible cloak

to mind your life.

John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

I can think of no better words to share or blessings to offer on this St. Patrick’s Day.  And since I have shared many a glass of whiskey (or whisky, when drinking Scotch) with my anam cara, I thought I’d include my recipe for Chocolate Whiskey Tart.

Sláinte.

(John O’Donohue’s last interview was with Krista Tippett on her podcast, On Being. He reads the poem aloud at the end of the interview.)

Chocolate Whiskey Tart

Crust:

8 ounces chocolate wafer cookies

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Pinch of sea salt

Filling:

6 oz bittersweet chocolate (60 percent or higher)

3 ounces cream cheese

3/4 cup whole milk ricotta

2 large eggs

2 egg yolks

¾ cup sugar

1 -2 tablespoons Irish whiskey, depending on your taste (I use Egan’s Fortitude Irish Whiskey)

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pulse the cookies in a food processor until fine. Add the melted butter and salt, and pulse until a dough forms. Firmly press the dough into a 9 inch tart pan.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.

Using a blender or stand-mixer, combine cream cheese, ricotta, eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until well-combined. Add melted chocolate and mix until well-incorporated. Scrape down the sides and mix again. Add whiskey and mix again. Pour filling into the prepared tart pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the center is set. Let cool on a wire rack. Chill completely in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Remove ring from tart pan.

Top with anything you like...confectioners sugar, chocolate shavings, whipped cream, etc...