Our Warm Inner Hearth

inner light

On a cold January day with snow still on the ground, I reached out for some warming John O’Donohue wisdom. I wasn’t disappointed! Let us all come home to our warm inner hearths.

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“In everyone’s inner solitude there is that bright and warm hearth. The idea of the unconscious, even though it is a very profound and wonderful idea, has sometimes frightened people away from coming back to their own hearth.
We falsely understand the subconscious as the cellar where all of our repression and self-damage is housed. Out of our fear of ourselves we have imagined monsters down there.
Yeats says, “Man needs reckless courage to descend into the abyss of himself.” In actual fact, these demons do not account for all the subconscious. The primal energy of our soul holds a wonderful warmth and welcome for us.
One of the reasons we were sent onto the earth was to make this connection with ourselves, this inner friendship.”*

~ John O’Donohue

Its so reassuring to hear these words from John O’Donohue. No matter how we judge ourselves, there is a deep loving center within us all. It takes courage to go there and makes friends with what is in the dark.

I love the idea that there is a warm inner hearth ready to welcome us home.

Namaste

* O’Donohue, John. Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (pp. 99-100). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

24 responses to “Our Warm Inner Hearth”

  1. Oh, Val…thank you for this today, this moment. I appreciate so very much these words from a favorite author and book. With so much outer noise and no consistent outer place to hold it with, this invitation is a potent reminder of what we already and always have.
    Thank you. 🙏🏻💜

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thanks so much Carrie 💐🙏💛
      Stay cosy 🔥

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Wonderful perspective on our inner life.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Thank you, Val. We need this uplifting wisdom more than ever in today’s world.
    Blessings – Paul

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Paul. Keep the fire burning 💐🙏🔥

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  4. It is a beautiful place Val, something that once found will be given a true appreciation of all we have done. I was so amazed that something I feared was in fact giving me a very profound and beautiful gift. And so glad that I persevered to find it. Great post kind lady, its warmth ever in my heart and the smile the self now holds 🤗❤️🙏

    Liked by 1 person

    1. May the warmth continue to nourish your heart and life as it continues to unfold 💐🙏🔥

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Thank you, Val, for these uplifting words. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Carol. So glad they resonated with you 💐

      Liked by 1 person

  6. In reading this, I realized that ‘hearth’ is ‘heart’ with an ‘h’ at the end. 😉 The burning light within!

    Liked by 2 people

  7. I keep this book by my side and refer to it so often. John O’Donohue was such an amazing man. Sometimes I read his words just for the calming effect. I’m so glad I read your post tonight. I needed it. ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    1. His words are always worth coming back to. They will always resonate 💐🙏🔥

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Love these words. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. So glad the words resonated 💐🙏🔥

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Michele 💐🙏💛

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  9. I love O’Donohue’s gentle wisdom. I could read his books over and over again. Thanks for the reminder, Val, of his beautiful writings. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks so much Diana 💐

      Liked by 1 person

  10. I love this post, Val ❤️! Great words of wisdom from O’Donohue, and especially love his line where he quotes Yeats, “Man needs reckless courage to descend into the abyss of himself.” Your post is a toast to the warmth of winter, and all it can provide. Thank you! I wish you an amazing Year of the Snake ahead 🐍.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so much Randall. A new year and beginning on the edge of winter’s blast is always an invitation to go deeper and explore, as the sun begins to rise higher in the sky.
      The year of the snake calls us all forward and invites us to shed the past 🍂🐍💦

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