David Whyte on Friendship
friendship will always reveal the shadow in the other…
In a recent article by Maria Popova (from her blog, Brain Pickings) she writes about David Whyte’s new book, “Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words.” Popova writes, “Among the words Whyte ennobles with more luminous understanding are those connoting the most complex conversations between human hearts: friendship, love — both unconditional and unrequited — and heartbreak.
“The dynamic of friendship is almost always underestimated as a constant force in human life: a diminishing circle of friends is the first terrible diagnostic of a life in deep trouble: of overwork, of too much emphasis on a professional identity, of forgetting who will be there when our armored personalities run into the inevitable natural disasters and vulnerabilities found in even the most average existence.” (David Whyte, Consolations)
As many of you who follow me know I like to write about phrases, passages, single words, and thoughts from people I follow. These writers and poets cut through the everyday noise that we are assaulted with and by.
Mary Oliver, Elizabeth Gilbert, David Whyte, and Mel Robbins are part of that select group. Mostly, however, Whyte rises to the top mainly because he speaks about human emotions to which most of us can relate. His…
