Deeper Waters
The Water is Wide,
I cannot cross o’er,
And neither have I wings to fly
I find myself drawn inward - again. Naturally, it’s the time, the season, Winter. She calls me again and again - to go ever deeper. Yet, Imbolc, the Celtic celebration of the coming of Spring, Light is perpetually promised after these shorter days. But in the meantime there is more to uncover, more to discover. And that keeps me excavating and happy to do so!
Often in the Fall, I lead singers on retreat to Ireland. It just seems to fit. Moving towards Samhain, the Celtic festival of harvest and towards All Saints and All Souls Day, the veil between worlds being then. But our challenged world has precluded much foreign travel, and boy, have I missed it! Yet her shores and essence call me. I grew up on the Atlantic, but from Ireland, I get another glimpse, another perspective. The light is different, the rocks, the stories, the music in the air. Even the hard times seem to sparkle with intensity that is true and honest.
Being a Florida girl, growing up on water, water everywhere, boats have been a main part of my life. Boats were freedom as a young teen, if you had access to one. Long before one would be allowed to take to the roads, meetups with friends, or young boys provided all kinds of teen excitement and adventure. Canoes, motor boats, row boats, fishing boats, sail boats. A way of life, a connection, a bridge. Life on the water. They carried us.
On the shores of Connemara, l spied this black boat. Empty, weathered, ashore. At the time of this photo, I was on my own personal writing retreat, for inspiration, and renewal. My mind wandered to its stories. What hands caressed its oars? Was work involved, sport, or amorous excursions? My gaze saw the emptiness, and I knew that meant a fallow time, a continued reckoning time, but with fervent love and purposefulness.
Now as then, my boat has many tales to tell, many songs to sing, and many adventures ahead. But in this pandemic time, our boats have all been a bit moored. A restructuring time. We’ve heard the recent hot statement that we’re all in the same storm but not in the same boat. That’s true. And it does take a village. But I am asking a different question here. It starts with me. What can I do with what I’ve got, from where I’ve come, and with what I imagine lies ahead? What is the right sized boat for me?
Building a boat for deeper waters. For times ahead. New direction for my work and passion.
How about you?
Build me a boat that can carry two,
And both shall row my love and I.
~ traditional