When Babbling is Quieting

When you're trying to relax, you generally don't start playing loud rock music, start tackling a new project, or hope for the sound of a fire engine or police car. No, what you want are things far more soothing such as hearing the aspen quake in the breeze, waves rolling onto the beach, or that melodious sound of a babbling brook. These are sounds that are often associated with time for "de-stressing" and ones that'll help you regroup for yet another future onslaught of activity.

When we were kids, I remember asking my mother what she enjoyed most which would have provided that calming influence. She was quite clear on this one; it was the sound of a babbling brook. Of course, it does have a rather distinct sound and ironically, one that has been recorded frequently to sell in stores today. Yes, the ethereal sound of a babbling brook reminds me of our times in Black River at Uncle Willy's. Maybe that was the reason my mother found the soothing sounds of the brook so enjoyable. It reminded her of Black River, which took all of us back in time when we were there.

Yesterday, we started our day in Kenmare, a coastal community north of Cork to the West. After a full Irish breakfast, we headed downtown to the market and a stroll to the stone circle. Evidently, the circle is a remnant of the Druid civilization which first inhabited Ireland some 2-4 thousand years BC. It was quite fascinating to think that someone stood on these grounds and assembled this gathering place to possibly tell time or whatever. It was a message in a bottle without clues. We wandered through a few shops, Quills in particular, and then made our way north to Killarney. Killarney is one of the starting points for the drive around the ring of Kerry, but that tour will have to be for another time. From Killarney, we drove to Tralee and on to Tarbert where we caught the ferry to Killrush. Catching the ferry here was so much like the Eastport to Deer Island ferry we took years ago on our way to Black River, except no lobster rolls were available at the dock. Once we disembarked, we made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. How spectacular indeed; in fact I was "awestruck" at their beauty, much like Mom would have said. The cliffs reminded me of the rocky ledged coast along the Bay of Fundy, and formations like Split Rock were in the bay, only we were viewing these form hundreds of feet above the sea level. No worries about getting too close to the edge, because my profound fear of heights cured me from breaching my comfort zone. The sun was shining and everything at that moment was right with the world. You could just imagine Grandma McNeil saying goodbye to this land, not knowing whether she'd ever return. I can only imagine how difficult that must have been for any of the early emigrants.

Finally, we motored on to Galway, and when we arrived in the city, there was a palpable change to our sense of calm. Suddenly, things became more frenetic, however once we found the Villanova B&B, we were able to relax once more. Here we were in Kenmare, a sleepy little town, only to find ourselves back in the hustle of a city like Galway at the end of the day. However, once we settled in and had dinner at Monroe's with a pile of college kids, we could look forward to our trip to the Aran Islands tomorrow.

When we were in Kenmare, we had to cross a foot bridge to town, and as we traversed the bridge, the sound of that babbling brook from my youth echoed in my mind. This time, I wasn't placing bottles in the creek to catch fish or building dams as I had with my siblings and cousins. No. I was listening to nature tell me that it's OK to slow down and de-stress every once in awhile. It was just as relaxing as I had remembered it years ago. These are the things that permit us to deal with the chaos and stress of every day living, and the things that we look forward to most when our bodies and minds tell us it's time to relax. My mother was right, as she has been so many other times before. The sound of a babbling brook can produce a calm, virtually at a moments notice, and it is this period of tranquility that restores our passion for the hard work we do so regularly. It is unfortunate that we all don't have more to time to enjoy nature's hard work!