May The Road Rise to Meet You.....

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
May the rains fall softly upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

And that is not only my wish for you but also the wish of the Irish people for anyone that travels to our lands & particularly our wish for anyone new we meet day to day. I love it. It’s so simple yet carries so much love and kindness within it. Five lines really can say so much sometimes. We definitely live in a world where more kindness is a much needed order of the day. See something has shifted in modern life. Something has moved within many humans. And it’s not all good. You walk the street and often you can see it in people’s faces. Obviously the pandemic has done its damage in a much bigger way than just our physical health. It too has damaged our mental health, our emotional well being, even our spirit has been knocked about and it takes work and determination not to become hard because of those knocks.

(Some roses from my mams garden 💖)

See the easier option in life is to give out, to be grumpy, to be in bad form, to feel hard done…. That is indeed the easier option when it comes to human behaviour……To smile, to compliment, to make an effort, to show kindness takes energy… And yes I think a lot of people are tired after the whole pandemic experience (even though we are still someway very much still in it - as i cough and splutter like an old tractor engine on day seven of positive covid times) but the type of healing we need to engage with each other is one of love and kindness…..yes there are so many reasons to be annoyed and even angry with the world but genuinely I don’t think that infused anger will bring about change and it definitely won’t bring about healing. The wonderful stoic writer Seneca speaks of the type of bad energy that I’m feeling out in the world & I think he has it just right on his approach. Seneca’s words go as follows; ‘Fight hard with yourself and if you cannot conquer anger, do not let it conquer you. You have begun to get the better of it if it does not show itself, if it not given vent. Let us conceal its symptoms, and as far as possible keep it secret and hidden. It will give us great trouble to do this, for it is eager to burst forth, to kindle our eyes and to transform our face. But if we allow it to show itself in our outward appearance, it is our master. Let it rather be locked in the innermost recesses of our breast, and be borne by us, not bear us. Nay, let us replace all its symptoms by their opposites; let us make our countenance more composed than usual, our voice milder, our step slower. Our inwards thoughts gradually become influenced by our outward demeanour.”

Well now I think that says it all doesn’t it?…… Weren’t the stoics of 300 BCE so wise about life? Anger is never good. Anger generally brings unease and potentially more anger will develop in a person if it is left to grow within. See as humans we really are amazing. Whatever we feed ourselves grows and multiplies within us. And the same goes for what we give out to the world. If we give our anger, we are sure to be met with more of it. Unlike when we give our love and kindness, there is a huge chance that we will met with love and kindness in return & that’s what life is all about. That’s what we need as humans. Within love and kindness…. resilience, support, strength…..are all built. That is what the world needs right now - it needs love and loads of it. We do not need more anger. We do not need to inflict more bad energy on ourselves or others or on the world. See it’s a vicious circle if we as humans don’t stop it, it will continue. As one grumpy person walks down the street to meet another grumpy person, all you have left is a world full of grumpiness and unease. And let’s just think about that for a second. What kind of world are we leaving for those coming next and particularly for those of the younger generation who see this as normal. Is it normal not to say hello to another human you meet on the street. Well it is in 2022 but you ask anybody of the older generation, and they will tell you that a little hello from one person to another, is the most healthiest way a society should function.

Yes… bad things happen in the world. Yes… bad things will happen you. Yes….bad things will happen me. Yes….bad things will make us feel bad. And even angry. But as Seneca says and I agree, do not let that anger take you over. Anger is not a good place to be. Anger is like a roaring tornado in the middle of a storm. Nobody wants to be close to it. Nobody feels good about. Nobody wants to engage in it nor do they feel safe around it. But change that storm to a blue sky with a illuminous yellow sun glowing down on you, and the whole game changes. Love and kindness are the only ways we are going to help heal our world and help heal ourselves particularly after this blooming pandemic, and of course the war, the wrong doings of our governments, the hardships being inflicted on so many and the list goes on and on and on. But what is the lesson or wisdom do you think we the potential Greek Roman philosophy students of our time, should be learning?

For me I think it’s about accepting that life is hard. Life was always hard. No matter what generation or era you belong to life has been no easy journey but I think the key of our time on earth is to not get so angry with each other, to try and be more compassionate to ourselves and as Granny Nancy would always say, “Just let it go.’

To accept that we can’t fix everything is an important lesson I learned from Granny. She had such a serene sense of the big picture. She not only was able to accept things but she could equally let them go. So when someone might say something hurtful, Gran would say to me ‘sure we don’t know what’s going on in their home. Just don’t think of what they said and let it go with them Louise. Don’t bring it with you. Because you are not like that. So just let them go.” And at that, we wouldn’t mention it again. Gone like a puff of smoke up into the air. And really my time spent with Gran has left me more willing to just let things go (as best I can). I’ve still about another seventy years to catch up with Gran but I definitely think my years spent sitting at her side, has left me a better person for sure. A better person for me. A better person for others. I don’t have it all sussed, far from it, but I definitely try my absolutely best to show kindness and love as often as I can & even if it’s a stranger, you can be sure, I’m saying hello and even throwing in an old smile. Why?…..because we never know what someone else is carrying. And we never know that inch of kindness could be enough to keep them going. Maybe they are returning to a home where anger is as normal as the sun rises every morning. Maybe they work for an angry boss. Maybe their neighbour is angry. Maybe they are angry. Who knows? But I can promise you, it is always worth giving out love and kindness in abundance because the world needs it . it needs it now more than ever. We don’t need to talk about it. We need to be it. We need to be the humans we need for each other. We can’t leave it for someone else to be nice. This is now our moment to bring our own wisdom to the next generations coming along the line. And what is that I hear you say…That instead of anger, choose love. Take a breathe before you give out about someone. Whether it’s Borris Johnson or a family member or friend who is making life hard. Our words travel from our soul and when we speak them in a negative way, as Seneca said ‘If you cannot conquer anger, do not let it conquer you”. Send out good energy instead. Bring your positive vibes with you when you speak. See that will not only have a healing effect on those around you like the sun shining down on their souls but it will bring you healing too. And we all need healing. We all need compassion. We all need love. So more love is always the right answer. More loving kindness and more Celtic five sentence words of wisdom are always a winner.

So…I’m going to finish as I started because you can never have enough good wishes in your life. I’ve included a beautiful version from Fr. Liam Lawton of the Irish blessing that I love so much. Please know every word of this is for you. I know Fr. Liam myself & he is a wonderful person with a magical talent at composing music.

“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
May the rain fall softly upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

Thanks so much for reading down this far once again Substackian family. You are a wonderful group of people full of love and kindness and never lose that. Never allow the world take that away from you. Keep saying hello. Keep hoping for a better day. keep looking up, Keep loving. Keep smiling, KEEP BEING YOU!

Loads of love, light and smiles being sent your way.

If you’re struggling right now, be sure to know I have you wrapped in prayers & I’ve got gran supporting you too. She knows all about you. We have you and you will come through this hard time - I promise. Storms pass, they are not easy as they travel by and through your life but on the other-side is sunshine & so many people who love you so just hold on.

Until the next beep in your inbox,

Your friend always and forever,

Lou (& Winnie) x - Winnie got fed up being boxed up in this room so Winnie headed to Dublin airport on a City link bus..Has'n’t been seen since…I think he’s gone flight to Honey-ville wherever that might be. Thanks a million Substackian Family. Talk to you soon.