These past few days have been mild and have let me appreciate just sitting outside, one of my favorite lazy pastimes when I want space in my mind and to reconnect with the current moment. I’ve been caught up in schoolwork and in feeling the weight of the corruption in our country, so sitting here is a welcome moment. The ducks are yet again making me so passively happy, getting to witness their interaction and joy-making. The grasses are browner than I’ve seen them, only a few leaves cling to the trees, the rest creating a warm, colorful carpet under which I imagine the thriving ecosystem of insects and decomposition just starting to begin. I feel gratefully cozy under my thick jacket and layers, but thankfully the air on my face, the dampness of the wood I sit on gently seeping through my jeans, and the unbothered composition of the birds that peck at the leaves around me keep me feeling present and connected as opposed to separated from their world by my layers.
After taking a few moments to just be in my sit spot, connecting to what is currently in front of me, my mind starts to wander to what has been there. I’m enrolled in an archaeology class as well as a geology course this semester and both have been making me consider the lives who’ve walked on and interacted with the same land I’m experiencing while here. Both classes talk a lot about the marks left on the land by the past inhabitants and what these remnants can tell us about how they lived. Recently we’ve been focused on mining history and techniques and how the evidence from those practices is still very visible in the land. I can go down a darker path here and talk about the lasting impact OUR resource usage will have on the land if even these relatively small-scale practices are still so evident, which is definitely a heavy topic on my mind lately, but I also think about how our ways of living are similar to those who came so far before us. What remains true about humans throughout history? How much of that is affected by where we live and how we interact with the land? Ireland focuses a lot on its archaeological history, though there is relatively little evidence on the island due to changing water and ice levels. It also prides itself in its natural spaces and invests a lot in protecting them. In fact, I believe the majority of Ireland’s tourist destinations are natural sites. There is an incredible depth of local folklore tied to the nature here, but naturally stunning formations like the Cliffs of Moher and the Giant’s Causeway have been drawing visitors from all over, for a very long time. Outside of advertising the natural beauty and advocating for their continued protection and respect, however, I have not seen much programming talking about environmental protection or advocacy. There are few trash bins around the city or campus, and the ones that I do see are the only forms of environmentalist ads I’ve noticed. They’ll have slogans on them such as “your excuses are rubbish, bin it”, and the majority of them do have metal skirts of sorts intended for cans and bottles that can be recycled for money, which I really appreciate and respect. However, it is strange that there is such a disparity in messaging between the urban versus more natural areas. It would seem productive to encourage the city folk to do more to curb pollution (etc.), but alas. I am so grateful to be getting to experience both the rural and central parts of Ireland and am preemptively missing the endless rolling green punctuated with stark rock formations as well as the bustling city centre with its constant music, charming architecture, lively crowds, friendly faces, and warm atmosphere (not literally, it’s gotten quite cold as of late). I hope that any mark I leave on this place is a positive one.
To all my plethora of readers, forgive me if I already posted any of these!
