On Friendship
By the time I graduated from high school, I had been enrolled in 13 different schools.
I had learned that the art of packing up a life was simply to never unpack. Naturally shy, I had developed an uncanny knack for learning landscapes–the names of trees, the seasons of butterflies, etc.–but, I could not put a name to a face. I wanted friends, but I did not need them; or so I thought.
In my mid-30s, weary of living out of boxes–never owning heavy furniture–I came across this simple blessing by John O’Donohue:
- 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 it transfigure what is negative, distant,
- Or cold within your heart.
- May you be brought into real passion, kindness,
- And belonging.
Sometimes the medicine we need most is the medicine we have to give. I stopped moving, and a little over a decade ago, I started a mentorship program in my living room with three others, which eventually grew into Under the Eagle’s Wing Mentorship Program.
Our aim was to journey to that place in our souls that O’Donohue wrote about. We chose plants over people because it felt easier and safer; and yet, the magic of transfiguration was happening. Shoulder-to-shoulder over fields of flowers we were discovering a common language to talk about spirit and the human desire to want, in our own ways, belonging.
So, this winter, I encourage you to throw out the boxes and settle in. May you be blessed with friends. May you be blessed with a warm place to belong. May you find yourself in the company of others staring into wonder and designing a new language that better holds you.
If you are looking for that nest; if you, too, desire to journey to that place in your soul, to be transfigured, and to be brought into real passion, then there is a spot for you in Under the Eagle’s Wing Mentorship. Connect with me to find out more.