The Book That Reignited The Spark….

Sometimes in life, something is presented to you at the exact moment it’s needed.  This was one of those times.

My family Dr. is Irish, and I had mentioned to him, that I had  wanted to go to Ireland since I was a child. My family never spoke of the connection, and it was not until decades later that I learned there was indeed one. And, being my curious self, I wondered why I had such a strong pull to a place I have never been. It was shortly after that discussion,   he loaned me his copy of The Red Haired Girl From The Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit. by Patricia Monaghan.

I was hooked by the end of the the 1st page.

The opening line is  ” I remember the exact moment I knew I would go to Ireland”

It was not as clear for me, but by the end of the 1st chapter my soul started to resonate with Patricia’s words, especially the lines….” How could I know myself if I did not know where I was from…the places where my ancestors walked, where my body understood the way time unfolded its seasons on the land, were people still spoke a language whose rhythms echoed in my own? Where history had been made by people with my family names? Where the unrecorded history of ordinary loves and losses had been made by people with features like mine?”

When I read those lines,  my soul  breathed a sigh of relief. These words were to it like a long awaited drink to quench a life long thirst. Little did I know the profound affect this book would have on me.

Once I finished reading the book I gave it back to my Dr, and ordered my own copy.  I am happy to say it is a much loved book, and it’s cover is somewhat ragged and dogeared. I have read it many times, and each time, I find something new, or more like something else resonates within me.

The more I read this book, the more I started thinking that maybe, yes maybe, I will actually get to Ireland “One Day” As this thought peculated through me, the Soul spoke louder and louder, till I actually started saying out loud that “I was going to go to Ireland one day” This was huge for me.

As a person who has had a very traumatic childhood, I learned at a very early age to never dream, never think I was going to be anyone or make anything of myself. I also learned if I had anything like a dream…never to tell anyone, because it would be taking away from me. So, as I said in my last post, this dream and the pull to go to Ireland was hidden so deep down inside that no matter what happened to me, no one could damage that dream or take it away.

And when the time was right, it started whispering to me once again. And that was when this book was placed in my hands.

To say I have worked exceptionally hard to deal with and overcome my childhood, and how it affected my adult life is an understatement. I have never worked so hard at anything in my life before. But it has been worth it.

This healing journey of mine is all about returning home to my authentic self, finding out who I really am, not what or who they “told” me I was.

My  Epic Irish Odyssey is also about returning home and finding my authentic self. It is about thanking ,and honoring, my ancestors, whose genes I carry, that gave me the tenacity to survive such horrific and overwhelming circumstances. It is about walking on, feeling and smelling  the land of my ancestors. It is about feeding my Soul and Spirit. It is about Gratitude.

This will not be you typical travel blog. The fact that I started writing it before I am even packed should be a sign. But, it has been a Hell of a journey to get where I am able to take this next journey, and they will be intertwined through my whole trip. My past will be bumping up with my present and I’m sure I will find many surprises and treasures along the way. I also know, there will be times of trial and challenges.

I have saved for 10 years to be able to take this Epic Irish Odyssey. I will not be staying in 5 star hotels, or eating in 5 star restaurants. I do not have a champagne budget, let alone a beer budget. Mine is more like a peanut butter and jam budget. But what I lack in monetary value, I know I will discover a richness in myself,  the people I meet, and the land that calls.

Like any good adventure, I have no idea how this will play out, what the next page let alone the next chapter is. But I do know, its going to be a real page turner. Come, turn the pages, and discovery along with me.

Suzy