31.5.-11.6.2021
Six weeks, only six weeks and yet it seems like a lifetime, and then again it does not. Best described I’d say, I experienced time as slowly and fast simultaneously. There were times when the days seemed endless, a slow pace accompanied by the songs of the birds, the wind, the cows and the sheep. Then again somehow a weekend had passed within the blink of an eye and thousands of new, exciting impressions were collected and hung up on the wall of memories within my mind. Challenges presented themselves, internally and externally, solutions found their way to each and every one of them. A beginning where I was unsure if this country full of fences, hedges and rural, concrete streets could grow on me, or Marjorie for that matter, and here both of us are, attached to Tullyquilly House, its tranquil garden, its lush, ever growing forest right next door and the most adoringly kind and friendly Irish people.
There was no wish left to be fulfilled. Looking out of the window onto the picturesque mountains lining up on the horizon, the fields of green with the hundreds of white and black and brown dots of cows and sheep underneath them, the little town of Rathfriland on the hill to the left side and directly ahead within a field of cows, their calves, the big ‘fairy’ tree, huge, royally, sheltering all of them.
Body
Parks, beaches, nature reserves, castle grounds, canals and towns- Marjorie and I had a lot of adventures and places to explore. We were on the move every single weekend, either having a full day trip or a half day trip, mostly depending on when the buses were scheduled. All our visits were exciting, some fascinating, some glorious, others alright but still interesting to explore. We were lucky enough to walk within the most beautiful parks I have seen so far: Tollymore, Kilbroney and Castlewellan. We dipped into the Atlantic Ocean and enjoyed Dunes, the beaches of Newcastle and Murlough, and we ran alongside rivers and canals. We witnessed wild rabbits and free horses within the vast nature reserve of Murlough. I drank coffee and Marjorie ate sausages in different cities and smaller towns whenever we felt in need of a break, a pause to digest all the images collected from the places we explored.
I build up muscle strength with preparing mortar mixes for the art of wall building, learned new fine motor skills along the way, here is the link to the video 'Stone Wall Building 101" on YouTube. A lot of weeding and planting seeds, transplanting seedlings and mulching also kept me active. With workdays between six and eight hours long, all of it happening outdoors, and after work walks with Marjorie, I was in motion and had fresh air every day for at least six hours, often eight or even ten. My body ran smoothly, effortlessly with just minimal aches here or there. Being nurtured by food that can only be described as pure soul food. Mostly directly from the garden onto the plate, every day freshly cooked and with much love for creating soulful, delicious meals and devotion to the art of eating nurturing, healthy food- Stewart, my host, never left any need unmet when it came to food, refreshments, snacks and dinners. Glorious, without exaggeration.
And lastly, my body served as a canvas. “Truth” and “Freedom", both grace my skin with their subtle presence as symbols (one more literal than the other) and serve as a constant reminder to live up to my best self as well as to the subtle wisdom they carry within them. I will never forget the transitions this skin art will be a steady reminder of.
Mind
It was the first time to experiencing a change from one place to the other, from one household to another, from one host to the other. Instead of smoothly it turned out to be challenging in ways I could have never anticipated, nonetheless a mantra was born out of it. A mantra that might seem strange at first because it describes what was my intention all along. Yet we only fully grasp the meaning of something when we experience it ourselves, in this case the mantra was and is “I will give this journey my all”. Since this came to my mind on the third day of being here, I think I truly started out on the journey in the first place. It is easy to grab a backpack, leave a country and the people behind, only to unpack in a different country with newly found dearest ones and stay. Leaving again and opening oneself up to a whole different experience is indeed something I needed to experience in order to grasp the concept of what I have signed up for. Now that I have done that, I can truly say that I am all for it, I enjoy it. Peeking into the lives others lead, taking away whichever serves myself and give whichever the other one might want from me, then move on, making connections along the way, forming bonds with the most amiable people. For now, this particular time in my life, it is exactly what I strive for, what is right for me.
Not to mention the ultimate lesson my mind learned two weeks ago. My blog post “Rough Revelations” painted a pretty good picture what came out of this. I am so grateful to have seen the tricks my mind still plays on me, the impact it still has on me, the narrow interpretations it gives me in order to hold onto old ways, old belief systems. Without this day, without this experience, without the sheer strength to pull out of it all by myself in a healthy way, creating boundaries of what I can and cannot bear, I would not have such a clear inclination of how intense my brain rules over my whole existence, my perceptions and actions. Now that I have the advantage of living the experience, I am able to detect it more clearly, can embrace my mind for trying to protect me by replaying what programs used to play out, replay what kept us safe prior. And it taught me that flow is flow, a constant pendulum swinging between happiness, joy, sadness, anger, desperation and all the emotions that guide us through our life. They are good, they have a purpose to show us where to look, where our energy goes, what we have to work on.
Apart from not expected life lessons to broaden my mind, I most certainly also expanded my mind by acquiring knowledge. I am proud to have completed my professional diploma in “Blogging, Vlogging, Content Creation and Social Media Marketing” during my stay at Tullyquilly House. Additionally I made the decision to follow a deep desire of mine, being of service to others, by starting two new courses as well. “Yoga” and “Coaching” have now my main focus when it comes to studying with online classes at Shaw Academy. I felt both inspired and eager to get all of the new knowledge into practice, because both of the instructors encourage us to implement all that we have learned into our daily lives, either while or before having a career in the particular field. I recognised that my listening and communication skills definitely have improved, and with the extended background knowledge about the Yoga history, philosophy and all the varieties within practices, my daily Yoga routine definitely improved as well. Keeping my mind occupied with new skills, ideas, challenges really is something I love doing. It is something steady, it is particularly dear to my heart to dive deep into self- development and ways to pass the knowledge I gained on to those who are in need and want of it. We are all connected, if I can be of service to another soul by what my mind has learned or my soul has experienced, that is my understanding of what being human is all about.
Soul
Usually I consciously decide to work on something, I clean my energy with some incense and I focus on my intention while meditating. This time around most of the growth came unexpected. I literally give my spiritual Guidance permission to interfere in my life the next day with every meditation before sleep, but I guess this is why it did not seem like a conscious decision even though, abstractly speaking, it kind of was. Things happened, situations were created that were unexpected and therefore thought processes were initiated.
Firstly I truly can say that my heart is mending. Nearly two years have passed since my break up and within this last month I made the final progress to feel the bruises and scars fully once more and then feel them fully healing.
Secondly I received feedback from people about how they view me, this was part of a challenge our instructor for coaching at Shaw Acadamy gave us in order to reflect on possible blind spots between how we and others see ourselves. This led to feeling so humble and grateful, all of this time people took out of their busy lives and the effort they took to grant me this pledge, just for my own personal growth, I am so thankful for all of it. Plus the most revealing part that nearly everyone of them had in common, taught me a lesson at a soul level, sinking in more and more each time I think about it. “Go easy on yourself, be gentle with yourself, grant yourself kindness and allow tenderness into your daily approach on things.”
I will take all of it to heart and I am willingly learning every day to become the best person I can be. So with much gratitude I am leaving Northern Ireland. Onto new adventures, new experiences, new connections, new change and new growth. As always, here is a link to my latest video on YouTube: Vlog #3 || impressions and lessons while being 6 weeks in Northern Ireland.
Like always, beloved ones, love and light, I wish you all a wonderful start into the new week. I am excited, there is so much life to live.
Thank you
Nadine