… of an Irish mind.
author of wellness books and books about Irish culture.
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 […]
MoreSome Irish proverbs are close to the bone, many take no shit at all – Is leithide an bualtach satail ann -Trampling on dung only spreads it more is a brutal reminder that some actions we undertake can do more harm than good. Sure, ‘shit happens’, that’s just life but this is one of those […]
MoreI can struggle a little some winters, the consequences of both seasonal affected disorder and the culmination of a tiring or unsatisfactory year but I take solace and resolve from the proverb Olc síon an sioc, is fearr sioc ná sneachta agus is fearr sneachta ná síorbháisteach – Frost is bad weather, but frost is […]
MoreThe seanfhocal Is fearr eolas ná iontas – Knowledge is better than surprise, highlights the Irish love of knowledge, Not just for its sake but for its use. Knowing something, is of value, learning is the ongoing skill. To be wise is worth the effort and yes it does beat being surprised or caught out. […]
MorePerceptions make your world. How we choses to see things or are conditioned to read the room is what we feel is real and often unalterable. It is good so to be remind that you can swap out negative perceptions for positive ones. This is not denying reality this is perhaps seeing the actual reality. […]
MoreThere 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 […]
MoreThere is a wonderful old saying Leig an donaschundeiridh, a n-duil s’ nach d-tiocaidh se choidche – Leave the bad luck to the last, in hopes that it may never come. That is just pure optimism from the Irish psyche. We Irish often forget owing to our history that we are essentially a positive people. […]
MoreThere are many ways to talk about the weather but there are may insights in thinking about the weather. One of my favourites is from the Irish proverb Ní bheidh sé ag fearthainn i gcónaí – It won’t always be raining. Some might say that’s a brave statement to make in Ireland, where four seasons […]
MoreThere 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 […]
MoreThe Irish have a great tradition of pilgrimage – to take sacred excursions into nature, walk around a holy well, visit a blessed lake, gather at a venerated tree or woodland, climb a sanctified mountain. One such sanctified mountain is Croagh Patrick, in Mayo which is locally nicknamed the Reek and has been climbed as […]
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