What a perfect evening here in the South-East of my beloved Ireland! Garrarus Beach called and the sea just had to give one little sparkle and I was captivated and lured into the mystical waters.
Swimming in the coppery stillness, I felt nature holding me in her soft arms soothing away my worries, just like my mother did when I was a child. Could one ask for more?
It’s been quite a while since I last posted and I would like to thank all those who were kind enough to get in touch to ask if everything was okay.
It’s been a difficult period but the story is not mine to tell. I’m glad to report, though, that the sun is beginning to break through again, however tentatively.
The fragility of life has been at issue and it’s been a time of heightened sensitivity to everything that it is so easy to take for granted.
As always, the ebb and flow of the sea has brought immense comfort. While the world has seemed like a very uncertain and shakey place, the sea has continued to be its beautiful self – rising and falling at the predicted times.
Tonight, I would urge everyone to take time to count their blessings and stop, stop fretting about ‘stuff’ that doesn’t matter one weenchy bit in the grand scheme of things.
Sleep tight, Dear Friends, and thanks for your kindness.
Early morning in my precious Newtown Wood, just outside Tramore, brings signs of changing seasons. Just as people don’t move through life in a uniform way, trees and flowers have their own ways of adapting and moving on.
The beech tree is steadfastly holding on to her autumnal leaves until the new growth is ready for show:
For now, the sun can see through the bare tree and cast pensive shadows where soon the there will be a carpet of bluebells:
Looking skyward, it’s clear that a canopy of green leaves will soon draw the blinds over the blue sky:
Down near the little stream, the celandines gleam with pride, promise and gentle purpose as they take us by the hand to celebrate diversity, humility and here-and-nowness.
It’s been a cold, windy day here in Tramore with Storm Jake making his presence felt. But storm or no storm, Puppy Stan and I needed our evening constitutional out at our precious Garrarus Beach.
We had the beach to ourselves and were treated to the delights of nature’s contrasts all in a few heartbeats. Yes, it was freezing but that was only a very minor matter, given the glory that unfolded.
Here’s just a tiny taste of it all:
The contemplation of beauty causes the soul to grow wings. (Plato)
Tramore has been looking magnificent of late but yesterday evening was truly special in terms of colour and a sense of hope.
I hope you enjoy this little video.
“The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished.”
(Ming-Dao Deng)
There’s a tameness and a wildness in us all ~ whether we like to, or can, live these out or not.
I was very taken at the hairdressers the other day by a woman in her late sixties or early seventies who had long grey hair. She wanted lots of pink and purple tints put into it.
She has stayed in my mind and I wonder if she is an extreme Jenny Joseph follower:
WARNING
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
(Jenny Joseph)
This morning got off to a not-so-great start for a host of reasons that don’t matter in any significant way.
But, it’s always important to DO something to lighten these situations or they can envelope one. (Note the formality of this para!
Anyway, I took myself out to the beach and got engrossed in the waves. The tide was coming in fast.
This is how it looked and sounded and I can tell you I got so engrossed in all this that the waters took it upon themselves to give me a paddle!
The yelp in the middle was my cleansing.
Glad to say everything is good again. I know I need to work on my videoing skills but that wasn’t the point of this morning’s exercise.
It’s been very stormy in Ireland over the last few days. It has seemed at times as if the end of the world is nigh with torrential rain, howling gales and dark, dark skies.
As I battled against the wind out at the beach during a lull in the rain, I was really struck by the beauty that can lie even in storms if we lift our heads and take a look around.
Pondering this, I had to conclude that there have been beautiful moments in the storms of life that have come my way over the years.
I’m writing this mainly as reminder to myself that storms are not all bad.
But I also want to reach out to anyone who is going through a storm in their lives right now. Please remember that the sun will shine again and that it may even be glinting at you, if only very fleetingly, to give you a glimpse of hope and better days ahead.
One of the things I most associate with November is what I think of as sunsetting with son, Harry, at the seaside. It’s something we’ve been doing together since he was a toddler.
When he was five or six, I had no concept whatever of a time when he would be twenty and driving me from beach to beach to make the very most of day’s end.
We had a glorious few hours this evening soaking in the delicious colours as they unfolded. We played around taking photographs and here’s a glimpse of a couple we took:
Shared time is a curious thing and I wonder to what extent either H or I will remember the intensity of this evening in years to come.
