Byline: Anne Gildea
I try to have faith. There are so many things you could believe. Take God: The One who watches out for you. He may let bad things happen -- wars, tsunamis, earthquakes, nuclear meltdown, Justin Bieber -- but at the end of the day he's there for a chat if you want to talk out loud when you're alone, and not feel like a complete loony.
Plus he comes with a package of delightful stories, like the one that goes: imagine looking back over your life and you see your journey as footprints along a sandy beach, and you notice there are two sets of prints all the way along. And God pops up and says, 'That was me. I was walking with you the whole time.' Then you notice that at certain times along your life journey there was only one set of prints. You recall that they were the lowest, toughest times for you. 'Why did you desert me at my most difficult times?' you ask. And he says, 'I didn't desert you -- there's only one set of prints because during the tough times I carried you.'
Then you ask, 'But what about the times when there are no prints at all, just two deep recurring holes? That's when we were pogosticking,' he says. 'And the single pogo holes?' 'That's when times were rough, and I carried you. On my pogo stick, in the sand -- imagine the effort that took! But that's the kind of omnipotent benevolence that is my wont,' he answers.
And whenever you remember that story, you're suffused with the wonderful sensation that truly, no matter what happens, you're not alone and everything will be all right. (PS Some of that retelling is not quite the official version.) For people who find the idea of God too specific and macho, there are the angels. Apparently they may be seen in forms varying from mushy blobs of lovely light to the more traditional long-robed, bigwinged, handsome, Caucasian-featured creatures of storybooks.
I wouldn't know first hand myself; I don't have the magical sight claimed by some that allows them to view such visions. But I've heard such seers speak -- they say there are personal angels and gangs of general-purpose ones, and if you ask the angels for a sign of their presence, out of the blue, you'll find a little feather. I've tried that, and I have, actually, suddenly come across a little feather. Though my personal jury is out on whether that's more about the existence of angels or shedding pigeons.
As an adjunct to the idea of angels, there's the concept of the spirit guide. A clairvoyant once told me that my spirit guide is an American Indian chap. She said she could see him standing behind me, in the room where we were seated - a strapping, handsome six-footer, exactly the type I'd like to meet in real life. Just my luck that my perfect man exists in a different dimension. Do I believe in him? No. But if I asked for a sign, and a tomahawk suddenly fell out of the sky, I'd make that a 'maybe'.
If all of the above doesn't pique your fancy, how about just believing that we're all one energy field? And that the third eye will become the portal of the unityconsciousness we're all going to develop, quite soon, at the end of the Ancient Mayan calendar, 21 December, 2012? There'll be an apocalypse then but, don't worry, it'll be a nice one. Hopefully. This projected event is also linked to the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Second Coming, the fulfilment of the Hopi prophecies and the advent of a new, universal appreciation of the magnificence of the lentil. It's the kind of information that's inspiring, when you read about it on the internet, in the middle of the night, while watching telly and quaffing a demijohn of red wine at the same time.
Or you could just believe in astrology. I've mentioned it here before: I'm a regular reader of Susan Miller's online Astrology Zone. She gives a free detailed forecast every month. This is a good one for us Pisceans according to Sue: 'In April there is a staggering development - Neptune is about to move into Pisces for the first time in your lifetime on April 4. Neptune has not been in Pisces since 1847-1862!'
'Whoopee,' I found myself going, even though the Irish-history bit of my brain went, 'Hang on, 1847? That wasn't too salubrious was it?' It's not remembered as 'Black '47' for nothing. So, what do the stars predict? That I'm going to emigrate to America and develop a deep distrust of potato crops? Sue continues: 'You will find yourself within a golden circle of monetary reward unlike anything you've seen in your life so far.'
Oh, I want to believe that so badly. I do. Who wouldn't? But I can't. I'm going through a phase of not being able to muster up faith in anything at all. Maybe it's the times that are in it: this era of The Bald Harsh Facts. Yet, I still, intellectually, believe in belief. I hope faith will return.
Meanwhile I just tell myself: 'You're not alone and everything will be all right.' Whatever you do or don't believe, that's not a bad mantra.
anne.gildea@mailonsunday.ie
THE CONNEMARA MUSSEL FESTIVAL runs from Friday 29 April to Sunday 1 May
The 6th annual festival takes place at Galway's Renvyle Peninsula, in an area that is rated as one of the 40 places to see before you die
Killary Harbour produces 2,000 tonnes of mussels annually, grown on ropes over a 2-3 year period
3 tonnes of the distinctively sweet-flavoured mussels will be harvested for the event
Did you know?
There are more Americans who believe in angels than those who believe in evolution: 55% say they believe angels exist; 39% accept the theory of evolution
No comments:
Post a Comment