We have just moved to Sligo, me, my 8 year old son, our two dogs and our hamster Bear. Bear is the smallest member of our family with the biggest name and the biggest heart.
So Sligo here we are, one and a half weeks in and life is good, It rains a lot here, but everyone knew that so it wasn’t a huge surprise, our first night in our new home was a storm. Our home is a stunning wooden masterpiece, built by the owner. We are surrounded by wood, a natural product I feel most comfortable in.
In our first week we met the West of Ireland storms, we got clattered every night with wild Atlantic storms, the rain pelted on our roof and we lay in our beds listening to the wind as it howled. I love it, its all what nature offers, unpredictably, and reality. Here it is unpredictable, this morning I watched the sunrise over the mountains, and two hours later the mountains hidden by deep dense cloud and fog. But again, I love it, I love that nature is its own source and its up to us to work around her and her moods.
I swam in Dublin and I swim here, every day since I arrived I have taken to the seas, some days the waves have hit the shorelines with a grumbling roar, and other days they quietly slide onto the sand without even a flutter, I like the diversity of what you get when your feet hit the sand, and you know you are alive.
Every day the sea teaches me something new, I am amazed by its splendour and its ruggedness. Its the grounding I feel in my body when I get cold, when I feel the release of tension in my spine, the natural realignment.
I have been graced by new people we have met, people who are kind, open, free spirited and like me respectful of the Sligo beauty, they have welcomed us into their homes and their hearts, giving us kindness and cups of tea.
I moved here with no expectations, only to be at one with nature, to live a simple life, and be a part of what is not conventional. I moved here to show my son there is more out there in the simple things in life, like finding the little black furry caterpillars busy about their lives, just living, and not wanting. I moved here hoping that my son would also teach me, he shows me how to hang from trees, cycle these quiet roads slowly, not rushing to get to our destination but instead, stopping to pick the blackberries. He teaches me to be present, and to be still.