{cue the Waterboys’ This is the Sea}
I’ve obsessed about Ireland for the past year. The island. The sea. The music. The films. The accent. The history. And the beer. Photos of coastal roads are on my bedroom wall, my fridge and my car’s visor. But excuses got in the way. Time. Money. The usual. After hanging out daily in Stanley Park, I got good at hearing my heart. Ireland's beautiful coastline. Ireland. Ireland. Near the end of my 30 Day Writing Experiment, I was surfing online and landed on KLM’s website. Seatsale. Vancouver to Dublin. $940 including tax. I called my friend. “I think this is it,” I said. We bought tickets that night. April 10th to the 19th. Yes. A few days later, I thought of the Waterboys, a band of Irish and Scottish musicians. My heart swells in an autonomic response to lead singer and songwriter, Mike Scott's music. {see Selectively Numb}. It is my music of choice for runs and road trips. It had never occurred to me to check their tour dates. What would be the odds of them performing in Ireland while I was there? I scrolled down the dates -- Brussels March 18. Liverpool March 24. Bristol March 29. Manchester March 30. Dublin April 1st. After 42 years, I was going to miss my favorite band, in their adopted home city, by 9 days? Uh-uh. I think I have to go early. I think I have to see the Waterboys in Dublin. “It will cost you to change your ticket,” said my mind. “Not to mention the extra money for 10 more days.” I wanted somebody else to help me decide, tell me what to do. But I have learned that is not the best way. I had the answer I needed. I just needed to get quiet. I needed to hear my heart. I went to Stanley Park. I walked along the seawall with my dog. Ireland. Ireland. Ireland. “You can’t board your dog for 3 weeks,” said my mind. "He'll miss you too much, it will be too stressful." I continued walking along the seawall. The music... Waterboy's Fisherman's Blues. The Whole of the Moon. U2's Red Hill Mining Town. Bob Geldof's Dazzled By You. When it got quiet, my heart spoke. Say yes. Go. “But you don’t have the money, the change fee on the ticket is $250 and the boarding bill will be huge,” said my mind. Show kindness. {see Say Goodbye Limiting Beliefs} “I don’t need to figure out the money right this minute,” I said. "I’ll figure it out. “What are you talking about, you’ll figure it out?” my mind asked. I’ll figure it out. I got home and called my friend. She laughed. It is funny! “Is the band that good?” she asked. Yes, yes they were. But it wasn’t just about the band. The band was the emotional connection, the push, that made everything else okay. It meant that I would spend 22 days in Ireland instead of 10 days. It meant I would get to explore Northern Ireland. It meant that I would rent that motorbike and ride the Causeway Coastal road. It meant that I would spend some of the trip on my own, practicing writing. All of these things that my heart had wanted to do before my mind had argued the reasons why I couldn't, or shouldn't. I slept on it. I again went to Stanley Park. The films... In Bruges. The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Perrier's Bounty. Ondine. Say yes. Go. It will work out. And this time, my mind did not even show up. My heart smiled. Okay, I hear you. I took a leap of faith that the money would work out, and changed my departure date to March 29. I bought my concert ticket for the Waterboys for April 1st. I will explore Northern Ireland first, then meet my friend back in Dublin on April 10th. Yes. Yes. YES! The next day I got two phone calls from people in two different organizations. I had committed to volunteer for their projects -- or at least I had thought it was volunteer. Both had called to work out the details of payment. Huh? “This isn’t a volunteer position, you get paid for this project and in fact, you’ll get on-going royalties throughout the year if all goes well,” one said. Yes. Stanley Park. You are a beautiful park, but so much more. You are a place where my heart spoke. And I listened. Photo by mozzercork Comments are closed.
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