It has almost officially been a week since Maeve, Sarah, Remy, and I arrived at the Dublin Airport to begin this journey filled with many unknowns and beautiful memories ahead. Throughout the experience of preparing for this new chapter, we were filled with excitement, anxiety, and many, many questions regarding what this new beginning held for us. Considering it has only been six days, I think we’ve done very well in becoming integrated into a new community of people with a different way of navigating and approaching life. There is much to learn, see, and do, but I have full confidence that we will seize this opportunity and not only bring peace and joy to the community here at University Church, but also immense fulfillment for ourselves.
Even though our time here is just beginning, I have already learned an important lesson in approaching my day-to-day life, which I am sure will be a consistent theme in my chapter with House of Brigid. I am the type of person to get sucked up into what’s coming next and focus on the chaos of a moment, instead of being as present as possible. Since I arrived, my mother has consistently asked me every night before I go to sleep to tell her my ‘gratitudes’ of the day. Even though this may seem like a small task, it has allowed me to really reflect on the many wonderful things I have already experienced and seen during a time that has been filled with an extreme mix of emotions and feelings. When we become overwhelmed, it can quickly become difficult to see through the moments of tension, and find the brighter aspects in the experience or days. I know that for myself, each day has been a bundle of points of joy, peace, exhaustion, and even some anxiety. That is okay! This is such a major life-change for all of us, and I genuinely believe we are already navigating it with grace and strength. As a group, we have already done some really fun things together and experienced exciting moments!
Being approximately 2,992 miles away from home each day is not easy, but also hearing from my mother about her ‘gratitudes’ for the day has been extraordinarily connective for us both. In a time of uncertainty, things to connect you to home are more wonderful than ever. Even the mundane things are beautiful! In my list to her a few days ago, I said I was grateful for fake candles. Crazy, right? Well, not really crazy at all for me! As we moved all of our belongings into our new rooms and unpacked everything, we realized we needed some things to remind us of aspects of home that bring us joy. That’s where my fake candles come into play. My mom loves to decorate and place them all around the house, and they truly provide an aura of warmth and peace to a place. In our many trips to Dunnes already, I was able to find these candles on our last visit. They are now lined up across my mantle and are an everyday reminder of the small things I am grateful for while I am here, far from my home and my family. This morning, I was grateful for the walk to work. The weather was beautiful, and it was quite relaxing! Tonight, we are all looking forward to our first Taize-style prayer experience, something that I believe will be deeply meditative and connective for us within our new community. There is much to look forward to and much to be grateful for.
Over the next ten months, although we have a great deal to learn, having gratitude throughout each moment will truly be an uplifting aspect of this journey. We can all be better about being more present, instead of getting quickly sucked up into the business of our lives. Next time you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious, recenter yourself and really think about the various things present in your life to be grateful for. I promise you that your list will quickly become bigger than you originally thought it would be. Every blessing and beautiful thing in your life is truly so much greater than the occasional obstacle. Be open-minded, be joyous for your life, and be filled with gratitude.
