19 August 2019
We’re heading back to Dublin. We’re a little relieved to be able to return the car. No more dodging cars on narrow lanes. For a while at least…
We decided to at least get the last bit of spectacular scenery out of Ireland, before we leave, so we took the drive over the Wicklow Mountains, through the Sally Gap. Again, the views were so spectacular, that a camera simply would not do it justice.
Near a village called Roundwood, a rather weird garden of ‘enlightment’ with some rather eccentric statues was created with the intention of some spiritual healing. I was interested to see the statue of the Ferryman’s End. Victor’s Way Indian Scupture park really is a fascinating place. Apart for some Indian statues, a walk in the ‘enchanted forest’ reveals some really profound statues. I did find the Ferryman’s End. With the following writing:
This ferryman’s craft lies dead in the water. Unable to move, he can no longer reach the ‘other’ shore, touch it, and by so doing become real, fully energised and joyful too. Unable to become real, he fades and dies.
The sculpture of the Ferryman’s End is a metaphor for the individual who is losing touch with the real world, personal or general. Because the sense of realness happens as after-affect of contact, loss of connectivity (i.e. of touch) results in increased feelings of un-realness, which in turn result in loss of meaning and increased unhappiness.
Disconnection, losing touch is inevitable. Firstly because contact is momentary (i.e. quantised). Secondly because ‘only difference makes a difference’, meaning that only new (i.e. differential) contacts can actually happen. In short, for an individual to stay alive, i.e. to be fully real, conscious and joyful (i.e. self-realized), he/she must continuously touch or be touched, each time differently.
The individual who tries to be still, to avoid new contact and remain the same, i.e. to live in the ‘here & now’ (i.e. on ‘this shore’), stops, decays and dies.
The ferryman’s craft/skill is his (or her) capacity to create (meaning: become) a bit or bite of difference by means of which he or she makes contact and thereby survives. Anyone who creates and transmits difference and so generates realness (i.e. new worlds), is a true ferryman.
Dublin on a Monday is very busy. I think Dublin on any day is very busy. We returned the car in the city centre. Supposedly near our accommodation, so we could walk back. We did. It took a while, but we stopped by some sights along the way.
I have so enjoyed your writings and pictures of your travels in Ireland. I have learned so much about Ireland that I never knew before. Thank you! I now look forward to your continuing journey in Scotland.