Ireland
looks like Scotland
The countries of The British Isles look quite like each other, just as the landlocked states of Nebraska (where I am from), Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri look remarkably similar. From a geological perspective, this is no surprise. So, when my “Oh, my God, you have to go to Ireland!”’ -friends who have never been to Scotland (or England or Wales) say this to me, I respond “OK, but I can get a Guiness in Scotland.”
I’m here for the first time in Ireland, and I’m actively looking for the visual differences - flora, fauna, etc. - between here and Scotland as a form of sport to keep me entertained before I head to Edinburgh on the 13th of December and dig into a much-missed jar of Branston Pickle (which is English).
So far, I have found three things: the Ireland shade of green in the crayon box of life is a deeper, more emerald-y shade of green compared to Scotland. The bins (trash cans) are different, and …I forget the third thing. But I am still actively looking.
It seems that wherever I have travelled in the world (it is not that many places in total) there is always some sort of rivalry going on between the neighboring natives. The Scots don’t like the English, and the Irish don’t like them either. Ireland and Northern Ireland have their bitter dispute, and I think Wales is pissed off at England too. New Zealand and Australia battle it out on the rugby field, and Canada has the whole French speaking vs. non-French speaking rivalry, which I wrote about here. Japan feels superior to everyone and of course has its longstanding historical rivalry with China. Even during the Catholic Mass yesterday, I caught myself thinking, “Sanskrit is older than Latin.”
Speaking of China…A few days ago I posted a video on YouTube of me walking through the woods of Doorly Park in Sligo, Ireland while musing on the issue people here take up of who has older rock sediment and standing stones and how silly all the bickering is and, you know, CHINA has some pretty friggin’ old stones, so let’s get some big-picture perspective. (China is not as old as Iran: 3200 BC or Egypt: 3100 BC)
Similarities and differences aside, it is beautiful here in Ireland, and I feel fortunate to be back to these Atlantic islands. One of the many things I love here is the landscape - walkable trails and mountains where you don’t have to worry about elevation sickness or bears, beautiful rivers and waterfalls that make you feel like you should be paying admission, and the smell of fresh, moist, green air. In this time of late fall/early winter, you can smell the burning peat and wood. There was a storm last January that took our power out on the Isle of Harris in Scotland - it affected the hermitage here in Northwestern Ireland as well - bringing down so many trees that they now have an endless supply of wood. I am sitting beside some of it as it burns in the fireplace now. There is a huge, covered stash at my cottage and I am feeling a bit… pyromaniac-ish. I would love to squirrel a bunch of it away in my large suitcase to take with me to the Outer Hebrides where trees are scarce, but I don’t think I would pass security check.
Everything and everyone are connected.
I am reading Project Hail Mary, by the same author (Andy Weir) who wrote Martian, and it is coming out as a film starring Ryan Gossling in March. (I am extremely excited. Trailer: here). His character is a molecular biologist who must venture into space to save humanity from a dying sun. Long story short, his crewmembers are dead (this is the fact early on in Chapter One, so this information is not a spoiler) and while in space, he befriends an alien whose crew members have also all died. They become friends as a result, helping each other because they have common ground - the dying sun - and must pull together to save each other’s planets. I think you can stitch the metaphor together here without me having to list all the global events - including war - that are going wrong for us as a species.
Everything and everyone are connected.
The Universe is pretty friggin’ old, so let’s get some big-picture perspective.
Peace (Shanti, Pax), everyone.
YouTube: Dunmoran Beach, Sligo, Ireland
Love & Blessings,
