Need I say that sometimes it’s a challenge to experience silence on a trip with 35 women? Breakfast in silence helps and we now have a couple of tables designated for those who want dinner in silence. I was only one of three who sat there last night. Um, what does that say to me? Silence on the bus covers the continuum. Some people are quite chatty and probably do not realize how easily their conversations travel up and down the bus. I notice that those who sit in the back are quieter and more contemplative. Please, I don’t want to give the impression that I’m a recluse, but, as you know, silence is important to me. I’m trying to sort out the difference between noise, chatter and meaningful (to me) conversation. Of course, I’m fully aware that chatter to one can be serious soul work to another.
Yesterday we walked among the Longcrew Carins located on four hills in County Meath. Fortunately we were able to enter one of them and view the carvings on the wall and experience what it might be like in one of the cairns as the sun enters on the spring equinox.
Need I say that sometimes it’s a challenge to experience silence on a trip with 35 women? Breakfast in silence helps and we now have a couple of tables designated for those who want dinner in silence. I was only one of three who sat there last night. Um, what does that say to me? Silence on the bus covers the continuum. Some people are quite chatty and probably do not realize how easily their conversations travel up and down the bus. I notice that those who sit in the back are quieter and more contemplative. Please, I don’t want to give the impression that I’m a recluse, but, as you know, silence is important to me. I’m trying to sort out the difference between noise, chatter and meaningful (to me) conversation. Of course, I’m fully aware that chatter to one can be serious soul work to another.
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Well, so much for writing. Yesterday filled with visits the sacred places: Newgrange, a burial chamber built 5,200 years old; Slane, a 13th century monastery, and Tara. the ceremonial land of the High Kings of Ireland from legendary times. Then there was the sacred pub where we had a Guinness at days end. I regret that I have no time to write more but thank goodness for Google.
I just returned from a “full Irish breakfast”. We were asked to eat in silence, a welcomed gift as far as I was concerned. The chatter of 36 women can feel like noise. The silence simplified so much for me as we leave for Lough Crew Cairns. Into the Realm of the Goddess: A Women’s Pilgrimage to Sacred Sites in Ireland Counties Meath, Kildare and Limerick April 11 - 17, 2011 LED BY JEAN BOLEN A pilgrimage is an inner experience, an outer journey to another world. It is an Archetype symbolizing a search for spiritual centeredness and wholeness. It captures our imagination and unconsciously pulls us to separate ourselves from ordinary life and place for an encounter with the sacred. Read More So here I am, a woman who loves solitude, about to spend a week visiting sacred sites with 35 other goddesses. What was I thinking? For one thing, I am continually reminded that I am an eager extrovert as well as an enthusiastic introvert. I figured that after my extensive introverted cottage time, it might be good to gain some balance through a bit of concentrated time with others. Something about staying in balance. And anyway, I love to travel. As far as the goddess part is concerned, Jean Bolen, the leader of the tour, has written extensively about Jungian archetypes. I feel I can learn much from her and from the other women. Sacred sites, be they in Ireland or at the cottage by the sea, are tools for soul work. They help with those soul questions, however you might frame them. “Why am I here,” “What is my life purpose?” “What is my purpose at the moment in my life.” I’m planning to blog while on the trip, but I doubt the timing will be predictable. There’s a five hour time difference, and as you can see from the schedule, we’ll be very busy. At least I’ll send some pictures. I’ve just finished an engaging book by Rita Golden Gelman entitled, Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World,. As I read about her travels to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Israel, the Galapagos Islands, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand, and her returns to the United States, I feel envious of this independent woman who just picks up and goes traveling. Of course there seem to be many conditions in her favor: the right age, enough money, free of family obligations immediately come to mind. But that’s no excuse for any of us. Where have we ever heard that we are supposed to live a carbon copy of anyone else’s life? The minute we start with, “I could do that if only _____________,” or “Oh, I couldn’t do that because______________,” we are cutting ourselves short, ending a dream that we could make come true. If we can fill in the blanks with our excuses, we certainly can create our own dreams. You may wonder why I’m featuring this book in blog for people who like solitude, silence, simplicity and who sometimes like to be alone. Rita Gelman’s travels are far from silent or simple, and she finds very little solitude. In fact, she is an extrovert and admits that she doesn’t like to be alone. She is always looking for new friends and travel companions who are going to out-of-the-way places, and participating in on-the-edge adventures-- all that involve helping the less fortunate in the world. What we solitudes have in common with Rita is our independence, or shall I say our commitment to follow our bliss and respond to what our soul is shouting out to us. Sure we come up with excuses—that’s part of the process-- but we recognize them, stare them down, and use them to understand what we really want to do. Rita’s experiences can act as a scaffold for our own adventures. She is out there on a limb, independent, adventuresome, listening to her inner voice, being true to her Self, stepping out into the mystery—you name it. We can do that, too. In fact, tomorrow I’m off to Ireland. A friend suggested that the missing key episode on my last day at the cottage might have been just the push I needed to lock up and drive on home. I like to believe that I have made the psychological break. I have wonderful memories of what I a call my ME (Maine) life as I settle into my MA (Massachusetts) existence. While at the cottage I lived in time and space. Now I am moving from a literal to a figurative cottage life, which I notice opens up more possibilities because I’m not confined to physical time and space. My hope is to take my cottage by the sea with me wherever I go and sit in it for however long is possible and necessary. That has to be that way, no matter what my circumstance or life stage. I still have the keys to open new doors and drive to new places. Yoga on the beach. I am writing this from the cottage on my last full day. Much of the day was usual, with the usual silence, solitude and simplicity. Up at 5 to prepare for a spectacular 6:15 sunrise and I was not disappointed. I walked on the beach, read, napped, prayed, knit, sat in the mystery. But this day offered me some “unusuals” as well. I washed the deck window and discovered that I’m terrible at it. Um, no surprise there. A woman was doing yoga on the beach. Um, maybe that’s a possibility for next year. I lost my keys while on my walk. Um, I still can’t believe it. But I didn’t panic, maybe because I remembered where I had hidden the spares to both the cottage and my car; or maybe because I have internalized some of the 3Ss. Anyway, I calmly called the police, and after describing a yellow key tag, a Toyota key gizmo, and a waterlogged CVS card, the officer calmly told me, “I have them right in front of me. You can pick them up here.” Of course I had no idea where “here” was, but no cause for panic. Would you believe that the police station is less than a quarter of a mile from the cottage, in easy walking distance? As I sit here on the deck watching my final evening come, I do believe that I have internalized some of the 3Ss. Yes, silence, solitude and simplicity have become part of me during these sixty-three days at my cottage by the sea--which means that I should be able to create some variation wherever I go. I’ll keep you posted. Yesterday I took a field trip to the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge. A simple trail through the woods and along the salt marshes, with views out to the ocean. Silence punctuated by rain drops tapping on my umbrella and by the crunching of my shoes along the path. Solitude--just me and a couple of blue herons; I didn’t meet another soul along the entire trail. A delightful day for someone who sometimes likes to be alone.
When I got back to the cottage I went to the website for the refuge and was greeted by a color photo taken on a sunny day during the peak fall foliage season. Beautiful and inviting. In contrast, here you have my photos, taken on this gray, rainy, early spring day before even a bud is visible. Beautiful, but you have to be there to receive the invitation. I haven’t taken many field trips since I’ve been to the cottage (one to be precise, and that was to the outlets of all places). It’s not for lack of enticing destinations. It’s just that for the short time that I’m here, the view from the deck and my daily walks along the beach are field trip enough for me. I’m thinking, however, that as I create my cottage by the sea time and space at home, field trips may be of the materials. What's next? On Thursday I will be locking this door of my cottage by the sea for the last time this season. In many ways I am very sad about it, but of course I know that nothing lasts forever. My life journey will continue and new opportunities will come along. They always have and they always will. Right now, as I sit on the deck looking out to a gray sea and sky (must wash the window), it is clear to me that “silence, solitude and simplicity and sometimes being alone” are core issue for me and for others, and that I want to keep blogging in some form or other. But what might that be? Perhaps some of you have some thoughts and suggestions to the following questions that you’d be willing to share with me. • Does the blog need a new twist? New focus? New title? New format? New picture? What might that be? • Do I want to keep the blog going? After all, I may be back here next year. If I keep it going, what would help keep it vital and dynamic? What might that be? • Do I need to end the blog? And start a new one? What might that be? If you have any ideas, sensible or “off the wall”, please leave a comment on the blog or email me. bobbifisher.mac@mac.com Many thanks. While I was home and waiting for the family of grandkids to arrive, I decided to review my 3S’s. I knew that for 24 hours it wouldn’t be particularly silent nor would I have much solitude, but I figured that I could keep it simple. Take meals, for example. As any woman knows, when people come for a lunch some automatic pilot snaps on inside of us and we immediately switch into complexity mode; by the time we’ve made too many sandwiches, we are also into resentment mode—“Yes, mayo…no mayo.. just a tad of mayo, please,” they say. And then they leave half the sandwich. So I decided to put out bread, cheese, salami, roast beef, lettuce, broccoli, red peppers, and of course mayo. It worked beautifully, generating zero stress for anyone. But best of all, I wasn’t even tempted to suggest, however nicely as only a grandmother can, “How about finishing that sandwich I made for you?” |
Contact me: bobbifisher.mac@mac.com
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