John O’Donohue PBS Special
“The greatest privilege of a human life is to become midwife to the soul” - John O’Donohue
I was introduced to the writing of John O’Donohue by a friend of a friend, at cosy dinner in her little cottage on the Sunshine Coast over three years ago. She lent me her copy of Eternal Echoes. It took me a while to read it as each chapter, each page really, is so rich with ideas. And every idea gives one pause.
John was an Irish Catholic priest who was so ‘out of the box’ in his thinking that the Catholic Church couldn’t deal with him and his ideas. When we had the privilege to meet him he no longer had a parish, but still thought of himself as a priest. He wore the priest’s stole around his neck.
To me John O’Donohue was a philosopher and mystic, a very rare man, unlike anyone else. I consider myself very fortunate to have spent a day with him at a workshop at UBC in early 2007, about a year before he died suddenly. Our day together was a combination of his spiritual philosophy, powerful personal exercises, and kind of a rambling, eclectic book review. There was little talk of religion.
PBS will soon be airing A Celtic Pilgrimage With John O’Donohue a program that’s been many years in the making. By pressing this link you can listen to a two minute trailer with John himself speaking and get updates on when the show will air in your area.
I think it’s time for me to re-read Eternal Echoes. As I ponder and review some things from my past and look forward to my future John O’Donohue’s thoughts will have a fresh, new affect on me, I believe.
Ellen Besso
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As you’ve likely read, my partner and I are traveling to far-away places these days. We meet many midlife couples and single women, and many more younger peole on our journeys. But now and again we do meet families with quite young children and they appear to be having a wonderful, relaxed time.
One of the most common problems caregivers have is the feeling of isolation. It seems to go with the territory. We get so immersed in our daily responsibilities: the problem solving, the visits, the strong emotional connection, that we start to run a ‘one woman show’. After a while caregiving just becomes a way of life.
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