Widening My Circle
The Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
I collected a few rocks these past few weeks. For twelve days, my family explored the west coast of Ireland. A lot of it was on foot, walking from town to town on the Dingle Peninsula. Immense beauty, gale-force winds, rain, and sun all in the same day. Pubs, fish and chips, sore feet and a few blisters. Lambs bleating to reunite with their mothers, we shared the same pastures as we moved along. Country roads, traversing along the coastline at high tide. Pummeled by a wave. Eighty three miles by foot, then Galway and Dublin. Numerous languages spoken. It was craic (Irish /crak/: a lot of fun)!
Whenever I travel, I feel like my heart and mind expand. My circle of inclusivity widens, my curiosity grows. I want to see the world and I also want to see it through the eyes of those who live in a particular place. When I hear different languages being spoken, I long to know what they are going on about.
One of the evenings, Doug and I sat in a small pub where we were staying in Cloghane (Cloࠡ haan) with about fifteen locals. The Guinness was poured freely and the men were animated and joyful as they spoke the Gaelic tongue. We had no idea what they were saying as the banter filled the room. At one point a gentleman came in and everyone erupted in a cheer, so happy to see him. It reminded me of Norm on “Cheers.” There was a lot of teasing from what we could tell. Their connection was palpable.
This was not about getting drunk or numbing themselves to their real lives. It was a community that celebrated a culture they refused to let die. They knew one another well. Even the bartender played a part. And we got the feeling that they convened often in that very pub.
I felt privileged to be there. I wonder about the Spirit being present, even in a small pub in Ireland, helping them connect with one another, supporting them and strengthening their identity in this part of the world.
My heart expanded in that hour as I realized that God is present everywhere, all the time, unimpeded and vibrant. The Spirit’s vitality moves all over the earth, the universe, the cosmos. No matter what language we speak.
It was hard to come home to a growing intolerance for diversity. Some would prefer that we all look the same, believe the same things, speak the same language, hold the same opinions. Diversity in unity is possible – I see it when I travel, I’ve experienced it in the schools that I taught. What we could learn, how we could grow, what joy we could experience if we opened our hearts and minds to this gift. It is in recognizing the other as equal, seeing the other’s dignity that we can see and experience God.
