head afire

author of wellness books and books about Irish culture.

the door to wisdom

According to the Irish proverb Doras feasa fiafraí, the door to wisdom is asking. And sure, how do you get an answer if you don’t ask the question? And that’s not a zen koan, that’s an immediacy that needs to be comprehended right now, not pondered until a mystical revelation manifests. There is no ambiguity […]

More

Keep hold of the bone

There is great wisdom in the Irish proverb Cuinnibh an cnámh is leanfaidh an madra thu – Keep hold of the bone and the dog will follow you. This proverb may echo down from a time when the domestication of wild dogs into guard and hunting dogs was a momentous advantage to the survival and […]

More

Better the good thing that is

There is the old Irish proverbial wisdom that states ‘Is feárr an mhaith atá ná an dá mhaith a bhí – Better the good thing that is than two good things that were’. It not only advocates avoiding nostalgia or sidestepping prompts to rumination but it advocates dealing with the reality of now, the positivity […]

More