“If in the dusk of the twilight, dimmed be the region afar Will not the deepening darkness, brighten the glimmering star. Then when the night is upon us, why should the heart sink away, When the dark midnight is over, watch for the break of day. Whispering hope, O how...
All has changed, changed utterly. You can sing it! We never saw this coming. It’s as though the world as we knew it has been suspended in time. What started out in a far away land has morphed into something that knows no borders. Amid the haze of the unknown, our...
“We should remind ourselves that we are not saviors. We are simply a tiny sign among thousands that love is possible… I am struck by how sharing our weaknesses and difficulties is more nourishing to others than sharing our qualities and successes.” Walking the...
Some days, you just wish you could wipe the slate clean and start afresh. There’s something about a New Year that makes us want to re-boot and get our lives back on track. Light lingers that bit longer with each passing day nudging us to take that first step down a...
“My father played the melodeon Outside at our gate; There were stars in the morning east And they danced to his music” (‘A Christmas Childhood’, Patrick Kavanagh) Christmas carols have the power to trigger memories buried in the archives of our past. The simplest of...
“Setting out is not covering miles of land or sea or travelling faster than the speed of light. It is first and foremost opening ourselves to other people, trying to get to know them, going out to meet them… It is possible to travel alone, but the good traveler knows...
What’s worth achieving does not just happen overnight. Often the harder the pathway, the greater the satisfaction when you reach the summit and breathe in all that opens up before you. Somewhere along the way, we sense the spirit of those who have gone before. Nature...
You cannot beat the exhilaration of reaching the mountain top and surveying the vastness you’ve left behind from your very own sanctuary in the skies. One deep breath and you feel you belong. The ecstasy of the conquest quickly yields to a silent disbelief at the...
“Stillness is vital to the world of the soul. If, as you age, you become more still, you will discover that stillness can be a great companion. The fragments of your life will have time to unify, the place where your soul shelter is wounded or broken will have time to...
“If one has courage, nothing can dim the light which shines within… Since a price will be exacted from us for everything we do or leave undone, we should pluck up the courage to win, to win back our finer and kinder and healthier selves. There is no failure as long as...