Afraid of the Dark?

I've realized that I don't spend enough time in the darkness, after the sun has set, to sit and reflect. I'm often scrolling on my phone, researching a new hobby, and sleeping through the time to wait for another day. Since I've been abroad, I've been sleeping less. All of the extra time I'm awake, then, is given to these toils. 

Darkness's physical reminder of not being able to see asks me to look inside and deal with the more difficult, present ideas (which is usually why I avoid it, hehe). I think that's what a lot of the poets and artists did to reflect human experience. They looked both inward and out toward the world, and shared their perspective. 

Even in Yeats' poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree," he mentions the serenity and fullness of night and day:

"And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow, 

And evening full of the linnet’s wings."

He finds beauty in all these times of the day, and peace in all the states he encounters too. This becomes a hope for peace with all things, even those he cannot control: the linnets, the bees, and the glade.  Nighttime brings an extra warmth and comforting glow to any kind of light, too. It's a kind of beauty that I'd like to understand more deeply. 

Some of the evening strolls and hurling matches have been my favorite activities. I think it's because I am aware as the deep grey takes over the sky, and I accept it as it happens. Someone told me that the trip is about halfway over today, and it was another thing I was shocked to hear. Like the night, I knew it was coming, but am sometimes still in denial when it arrives. I'd like to take this blog post to recognize some new goals for the second half of the trip, and to reflect on the first half. 

4 Weeks of Adventure in Ireland so Far (approximated timelines):

- Week 1: Arrive, Intro to Irish Cultures, Dublin trip!

    - Exploring Dungarvan when everything felt exciting and new

- Week 2: Castle ruins, Giant's Causeway, amazing hikes

    - Getting familiar with travelling

- Week 3: Waterford Greenway, beach walks, Irish football

    - 22nd birthday, getting to know people in the town

- Week 4: St. Patrick's, West Trip, and day hop to Cork

    - Realizing that the best memories are made when travelling

Moving Forward:

- Reaching out: as I get more comfortable in the place, I want to reach out to others more (even though the anxious part of me grimaces as I write this). 

- Find more opportunities to travel, whether it be in little day hops/side trips or exploring! 

- A picture a day: to remember the little moments. 

- Trying new things every day: it's initially difficult to try something new every day, whether it be an experience, food, walking a new route, ducking into a shop, or running out to see dolphins. 

Maybe the Isle of Innisfree isn't a place: it's wherever you choose it to be. I want to try to experience
Innisfree in everyday life, especially while I'm here, and even in the darker days and moments. 

Yeats' Isle of Innisfree in Sligo, credit to Tom Bartel (Google Images)