Life is full of corners of all descriptions ~ big and small. As Ireland stands poised on the verge of turning the corner into Summer time tonight, with the clocks moving forward, I got to thinking about a corner that has huge significance for me in everyday terms.
It’s a corner out at Garrarus Beach which can only be rounded if the tide is ‘right’ and by ‘right’ I mean if it is out a bit and heading out. It is very easy to get cut off if the tide is coming in and while there are ways back, they are rather precarious to say the least. This is definitely a place where you need to know if the tide is ebbing or flowing:
Puppy Stan has a very healthy respect for the corner, especially if the waves are closing in on it and he has learned never to dash round it in hope.
Getting round the corner when the water is still high can mean waiting for just the right moment to make a run for it and you are then rewarded with a view of what seems like the eyes of the cliff looking forward. I often think it’s most like the face of a tiger but it can seem like all sorts of wild creatures depending on the light.
What lies ahead is another stretch of beach and very high cliffs that lend lots of shelter.
Turning corners that you don’t know can be exciting and scary at the same time. But, one thing’s for sure, every single life has a host corners in it and we simply don’t know what’s around most of them. That’s part of what makes life so interesting, unpredictable, challenging, exciting …..
You can look back around some corners, if you’re so inclined and there you see what you’ve left behind. It almost always looks different in hindsight:
This little corner out at Garrarus Beach always makes me think about corners I have rounded and that lie in wait.
Sometimes, I barely realise that I’m rounding a corner as it is so gradual but others are like hairpin bends with no warning signs. Rounding a corner can represent a moment of major change or it can go unnoticed.
Do YOU have Corners, physical or otherwise, that have special meaning in your life or daily round?
Love this post Jean .. And Stan’s respect for the scary corner ahead 😊
Hi Val, glad you liked it.
Yes, Stan learned about that corner within about a week of being here!
Super thoughtful Dr. Tubridy. Some corners are only safe at certain times – and I too am impressed by Stan’s care of the rock corner- and some corners are always a risk but lead to new and exciting futures. That’s why I put the “Dr.” with your name this morning – big, big commitment to do a PhD. A do-or-die choice that forever changes your future – if you succeed (and obviously you did), and many don’t. Risk taking (or turning corners) is a very personal and unique endeavor that varies from being environmentally controlled to personally controlled on a continuum.
I love the way you present the subject with cliffs and beaches and an ocean. I could write a dozen posts on this topic but would never get the impact you did using the forces of nature. Beautiful and peaceful while keeping in mind the power and potential treachery of the ocean. A deep reminder on such a poignant holiday combining the political future of Ireland with the death and resurrection of Christ – turning corners indeed, powerful and dangerous and important corners that change the future.
Excellent post jean – Thank You.
Paul, I’m blushing or as we say here ‘I’m scarlet,’ reading your comment.
Don’t know how to respond except to say that I think you’ve negotiated a helluva lot more corners with style than most people would do in ten lifetimes.
My compliments fall far short of my admiration. Thank you. 🙂
Ditto!
Some corners present a vista that is beyond words, while others seem to end before they begin..Some give us anticipation as to what is next..and others leave us with a sense of …”Is That All There Is”…a song by Peggy Lee..(one of my favorites)…
Hi Joni, corners certainly have more dimensions than often appears.
Must check out that song! Thanks for highlighting it.
A beautiful corner Jean, we have some corners like that here that can be dangerous as well as exciting. I’ve turned many corners in my life, but physically, one of those that sprung to mind was when I first went to Rome and turned a corner from a narrow street to find the magnificent Trevi Fountain in front of me – I was awed by Rome that first time because it seemed that there was some huge, amazing monument around every turn.
Andrea, what a lovely thought about corners. I’d love to see Rome one of these days. Sounds wonderful.
Beautiful photos and writing! Now I definitely want to visit Garrarus Beach! Thank you for this. 🙂
Zaria
I hope you get the opportunity. You won’t be disappointed.
Lovely photos, Jean and very thought provoking post. I’m on a large curved bend at the moment, not quite a corner, but I hope to get around it in time. It will mean a lot of changes for me, mostly good, but still quite daunting.
Jean, glad this resonated with you and I hope that the daunting elements recede as you move onward.
Happy Easter!
Funny you posted about corners. A couple of days ago I dreamed I was in New Zealand, and there were floods. I was running from a wave of water down a road. Then I saw a corner of a ruined building. Just the corner standing. I ducked behind the corner, and the water continued down the road. I was safe. A corner can be your saving grace.
Sandy, that certainly is a coincidence. I’m glad the corner came to your dreamy rescue.
Thank you for the history lesson. Very informative. As to corners, some I have turned with purpose. Others I turned and only realized in retrospect that I had turned them. I just found your blog and enjoyed this post. Very well written and gave me something to think about. Lori
Hi Lori, many thanks for writing and look forward to getting to know you better.
I love how you see the beach and think about corners. This day at the beach was obviously very inspirational for you.
So many ways to approach this subject Jean – fascinating. Sticking to the physical my immediate reaction is how the familiar can appear unfamiliar from a different angle. There is a geeky Facebook group here in Jersey which delights in finding things that one might pass every day but maybe they’re tucked away or hidden by undergrowth. Such things enrich one’s outlook.
Hi Roy, how I love that word ‘geeky!’ Did you bring it to Jersey from Ireland. My father used to use the term ‘geek’ in relation to people! I always presumed it came from West Clare.
Jean I read ‘geek’ (‘gek’) is of Scots or Dutch origin, rarely used until about 1980 since when its usage has soared. Maybe they’re wrong and it originated in Clare!
198o! Commonly used in our house since at least 1957.
Maybe there’s a similar sounding word as Gaelige as that might explain me hearing so much of it.
Would be interested to know if that would be the case Jean.
I’ll have to do some digging!