A Hug Is a Circle

 The Celtic mystic John O'Donohue wrote this about the circle:

The human eye adores gazing; it feasts on the wild beauty of new landscapes ... Deep in the human mind, there is a fascination with the circle because it satisfies some longing within us ... The Celtic world was always fascinated with circles; they are prevalent in so much of its artwork. The Celts even transfigured the cross by surrounding it with a circle. The Celtic cross is a beautiful symbol. The circle around the beams of the cross rescues the loneliness where the two lines of pain intersect and seem to calm and console their forsaken linearity. (Anam Cara, pg. 162-163)

As we pass from one year to the next it sure feels like we have come full circle. We enter another January that seems just like the last January and this circle does not seem so calming and consoling. The humans on this world still seem bent on self-annihilation. Or it would seem if we just listen to the news.

But in the midst of all of this there is something to be said about O'Donohue's sense of the circle satisfying some longing within us. I wonder if that longing isn't completeness or maybe the enfolding circle of our parent's arms around us. With an uncertain future maybe there is some comfort in the circle of life, the circle of time, the many circles of our universe. When we feel like there is not much hope out there we remember the Prodigal Son was wrapped up in his father's arms, the shepherd went out to find the lost sheep and gathered it up in his arms, that Jesus taught us that we would be surrounded by the Holy Spirit. We are taken up in the circle of God's arms in love.

As we enter this New Year, maybe instead of trying to force ourselves into promises we cannot keep, we can make a commitment to live right where we are, surrounded by the love of God, and to be committed to opening ourselves up to what has always been right in front of us - the circle of friendship and fellowship.

A blessing by Caitlin Matthews: (Brighid or St. Brigid: patroness of healing and home)

Brighid of the mantle encompass us,

Lady of the Lamb protect us,

Keeper of the Hearth, kindle us,

Beneath your mantle, gather us

and restore us to memory.

Mothers of our mother,

Foremothers strong,

Guide our hands in yours

Remind us how

to kindle the hearth,

To keep it bright

To preserve the flame,

Your hands upon ours,

Our hands within yours,

To kindle the light,

Both day and night

The mantle of Brighid about us,

The memory of Brighid within us,

The protection of Brighid keeping us

From harm, from ignorance, from heartlessness,

This day and night,

From dawn till dark

From dark to dawn.