It was another lovely day. The sun was shining and the temperature about 62. I spent an hour this morning researching and finding my textbooks on line, ordering the last two and then heading to the main campus for lunch. I stopped by the Thomond Village reception office on the way out and discovered two of my books had already arrived, so over lunch I plunged into the first of two books on rituals. I think these texts will help me to understand the nature of ritual in all aspects of life and especially in religious or sacred life. It will help me to contextualize chant in each of the traditions I choose to study. I had not thought of ritual as an academic discipline, but there apparently is a body of work and I am about to read some of it. So I am off and running, getting a head start on my studies.
It is about 7:30 p.m. now and the sun is casting a silver glow on the River Shannon. I took a picture but I can't get it to download. Just imagine moonlight reflecting off the water, that silvery cast. The River has a calming presence. Moonlight in the daylight. I had to go out and see it first hand and so I decided take a walk along the banks.
There is a path across the the water that I can see from my window. It has been calling to me to come discover the beauty and the secrets that this mystical river holds.The Shannon is the longest river in Ireland and it's name translates to old, wise river. Lots of people are out walking in the evening couples with small children, elderly couples arm in arm, runners,lovers, all utilizing the paths that travel along the banks and in and out of the woods.
I think that I mentioned in a previous posting that I could see the ruins of an old castle from my window. I wanted to see the ruins close up, to get a feel for the age and energy of the place. I had no idea if I would be able to get to it, butit was just off the beaten path. It was so nearby and so approachable that I was able to get a good sense of the old stones and the ivy covered walls, and even the internal staircase that was fully exposed to the elements. The site is very romantic. I felt a sense of discovery, though it was hardly hidden away and has obviously been visited by every student on campus. I also discovered an opening in a wall that I was sure would lead into my secret garden. There was no garden and in fact as I was told by a very nice Irishman passing by, this was no castle. Rather, it was all that remains of an old mill. That it was a mill rather than a castle did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm or dispel its lure. I loved the spot and will go back.
At any rate I walked for sometime along the trails, past willows and wild orchids, a group of swans nesting into the banks for the evening,and then through a glorious canopy if very old trees whose branches wove together to create a trellis to pass through and under. All this led to a little foot bridge and I was back on the main campus. The school is truly beautiful. It is a very modern campus build in the
1980,s I believe, but it has feel of a fine old academic institution of long traditional standing. It is hard to explain. All I can say is that I feel so fortunate to be here and now that I have found these beautiful trails, I will probably find a way to walk them daily to and from my classes at the Irish World Academy's new building that sits along side the old, wise river. What a beautiful place to be.
'I hear a breeze", sings Sharon of Finian's Rainbow, "a River Shannon breeze. It well may be its callin me across the sea". It has. Here I am at the end of the first full week in Ireland and it seems that the University of Limerick is my Glocca Morra.
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