The star of traditional Irish midsummer - St. John's Eve on the 23rd of June - is the BONFIRE which turns out to be multi-faceted and multi-purposed, and altogether quite powerful! Let's take a leaf out of the traditional Irish playbook and kindle our own fires - of enthusiasm, love, and excitement about being alive. [...]
Irish tradition offers us some inspiring ideas about how to get older in a powerful way. I can't wait to hear what you think! Tell us in the comments: 1. Of the four ideas I shared, which are you eager to put into practice? 2. What's the best thing about getting older, in your opinion? [...]
I am an ardent fan of Irish proverbs and carry dozens of them in my mind. This one, though, I think needs just a bit of tweaking to help us harvest its dose of encouragement. Tell us in the comments: 1. What is one identity that you think our society regards with a fixed mindset [...]
A brief, passionate rant about the enlivening influence of poetry, very broadly defined with the help of John Stuart Mill and 19th century poet, Arthur O'Shaughnessy, and an invitation to throw off world weariness and cynicism and embrace and live YOUR poetry, your way. If you're moved and inclined, please share a comment - perhaps, [...]
Sometimes, a visitor to my home notices the mermaid-blue typewriter or the record player or the crowd of ink bottles and fountain pens on my desk. From time to time, one of them asks why I have these things in a tone that suggests I may be keeping a zebra in the bathtub or a [...]
By sheer chance, I just opened a journal from 2021 and felt encouraged by this entry: "The hardest goodbye (at the end of the term) was with C who tried bravely not to cry. It’s easy to assume I don’t mean much to people, that I’m part of the furniture of life. But even that [...]
Sometimes in my morning writing, I ask questions of “Wise Kate” – that part of me that knows more than I do at present. Today, I asked her: “What do you believe about pleasure?” Here’s what she said: +That it’s as necessary as air and water to life, and more than that – to [...]
Yesterday I finished listening to the BBC podcast, “The New Gurus” – or rather, almost finished listening because when the host began to cover things I’d rather not think about, I turned it off. Same with a book I began reading recently. About twenty pages in, I set it down. “Nope,” I thought. “Three hundred [...]
I'm very inspired by the idea of the "thought store"* and on a grumpy, anxious day recently, wrote this little piece in my journal and changed my whole day: I closed my eyes and entered The Thought Store. I carried my needless anxiety - a black garment with scratchy lace - and marched up [...]
Here's a lovely treat for you today: a post by my friend and neighbor, Jo, that will make you want to hop on the very next plane to Ireland. Also check out an exciting opportunity in the PS! The Lovely Fields by Jo Toale (2019) I went home to a place I’ve never been. Mountains [...]
