simple
Everyone has asked me if I was inspired while away in Ireland. Of course I was. But I was surprised that it really was not by the usual things. More than anything it was the dramatic simplicity of life.
We spent most of the week in the country and everywhere I looked it was an ancient landscape where the past absolutely insists upon the here and now. In the way that the daffodils return to bravely stand against gale winds, the lambs born into rocky fields full of danger, the cobbled walls just high enough to hold their place, but not so high that a shepherd couldn't climb over, the peat bricks stacked and drying in the sun. It was lovely and humbling.
I was inspired more than anything just to take care. Revere the past. Cherish its traditions. Knit them into the present with careful, loving stitches.
That's what I'll be thinking about tomorrow for Easter. A simple day where the past lives here beside our present, mindfully pushing us to look ahead. Hoping you have a day like that too, wherever you are. Happy Easter, welcome the brilliant miracle of spring.
Whatever peace I know rests in the natural world, in feeling myself a part of it, even in a small way. May Sarton
hope you have a beautiful easter, charlotte.
xo
Posted by: Stephanie Howell | March 22, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Gorgeous photos- I was hoping to see a Border collie with those sheep!
Have a wonderful Easter!
Posted by: Kim H | March 22, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Thanks for the reminder that sometimes the best things in life are the simplest.
Hope you and your family have a lovely Easter!
Posted by: jenny b harris | March 22, 2008 at 01:16 PM
Happy Easter! Beautiful photos...
Posted by: Jessica | March 22, 2008 at 02:42 PM
Wishing you and yours a Wonderfully Hapy Easter!
Sandra Evertson
Posted by: Sandra | March 22, 2008 at 05:03 PM
What beautiful sentiments, thanks for that. Happy Easter to you and yours.
Posted by: Dede Warren | March 22, 2008 at 11:18 PM
oh I want to go to Ireland too!!
I sure hope our plans work out!!
smiles, and Happy Easter..Deena
Posted by: Deena Warner | March 23, 2008 at 08:00 PM
Happy Easter Charlotte! Hope yours was a simply lovely day!
Posted by: jerusalem | March 23, 2008 at 08:54 PM
Happy Easter Charlotte,
Your pictures are so serene and inviting.
Posted by: terri | March 24, 2008 at 01:13 AM
Simply beautiful. Susan
Posted by: susans at black eyed susans kitchen | March 24, 2008 at 09:28 AM
So pretty! I love how you were inspired. Simply.
Posted by: teresa | March 24, 2008 at 09:28 AM
we need this calm in our lives - let's go back to the beach, too!
Posted by: barneypark | March 24, 2008 at 12:06 PM
It's only available used on Amazon, but a book I think you'd really enjoy given your trip is: Do You Think You'll Like the Wind: The Story of a Dublin Family's Life in County Clare by Paul Murphy. It's contemporary -- the true story of a city family moving to Clare -- and absolutely captures so much of what's amazingly beautiful about the Irish countryside....
Posted by: JenniferJ | March 25, 2008 at 09:00 AM
Charlotte, I love the journey you shared. The Irish countryside of beauty is so full of captured moments and I feel peace when I look at them all. Are'nt you happy you now can use some in your Art? I would....
I'll be visiting your blog again for another look.
Hugs,
Karla Smith
Posted by: Karla Smith | March 29, 2008 at 10:52 PM