Connemara

If you should ask then maybe they'd
Tell you what I would say
True colors fly in blue and black
Blue silken sky and burning flag

Connemara.

Is an area of Ireland, in the west. It is "a district in the west of Ireland of which the boundaries are not well defined." It is mostly seen as being north of Galway. We were south of Galway. It was a beautiful area. So - not sure if I was really in 'Connemara' or not.. 
We drove in at night, stayed in a little B&B. Sat and drank tea in the sitting room that evening, and pondered the great spinning void of fate, under our minds, and our feet, as we chatted about life and love. After going to Spiddal that day, to see my Mom's grave by the sea. 

We awoke to swirling mist, little birds outside the window at breakfast. It was Dec 21, 2012 - the end of the World.

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing "Galway Bay"

Meditating tonight, lying in the dark - I stepped into that golden zone where; I could hear my neighbours in the room below, talking, my room-mate come in and talk to the dog, close the door, and the silence, under and through it all - they weren't at odds, instead all part of one song. I thought, 'Connemara' is a good name for that.. phenomenon. When you're there - there is a river of life, the music in a pub in Galway, the wind across the scattered fractured rocks of the Burren, the bird songs, the people's jibes and laughing eyes, even through sorrow - the music a mystery under it all, the mystery a music. What ended, with the World, and what began?..

On the way back from Spiddal we stopped at a restaurant/hotel called Twelve, in Barna, just north of Galway. Great food, great service, awesome vibe. A shelf of books on Irish history and other rebelliousness. When an errand knight needs a break from his mid-evil wanderings, Twelve is a great spot to have a pint, maybe take a lady out. I was lucky to do so. Well, she took me out, I think. It was a great time in a magical few days.

I've again renewed my commitment to follow my path, wherever it may lead me. Will go back to school. When this trip came up I had a weird moment of being afraid, and I later defined it as; "wanting to stay in my hidey-hole." I live in a really great place, truly great, but - no hidey-holes. I have an errand to do.

The fortunate
      Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves,
      Whose slightest action or inaction serves
The one great aim.

The Irish know how to live. In more ways than one. Enjoy your life, laugh, love, laugh some more. But be free at any cost. 

I brought home a bottle of Connemara Irish Whiskey, and the poem I mentioned in the last entry, that my travelling companion (I'll call her "Diana", after the huntress) and I couldn't find - is called Connemara. 

In the west of Ireland I was reminded to enjoy life..

... and of the One Great Aim.

There's something sleeping in my breast

That wakes only in the west;
There's something in the core of me
That needs the West to set it free.