This morning at my Yoga class, the teacher made an analogy between the struggles we may be experiencing in our lives and the way the plants outside are struggling to break through the winter-worn earth and reach the glorious spring-time sun.
I immediately flashed on a garden I saw three years ago. The Poison Garden of Blarney Castle in Ireland.
The castles of Ireland are fascinating examples of lives lived long ago—the Iron Age, the Bronze Age, the violent wars between the Irish and their invaders or within their own Celtic clans. For instance, castles’ stone staircases are designed so that an invader ascending to murder someone will have to carry his sword in his left hand.
Brilliant, huh?
You’ve all heard of “kissing the blarney stone,” right? That’s common knowledge, but that poison garden knocked my sox off. The “enter at your own risk” sign did not deter me. Once inside, I found a collection of poisonous plants like Wolfs bane, Mandrake, Ricin, Opium, and Cannabis. They were used to kill and cure by the Lord of the Castle (who changed identities hundreds of times since the castle’s inception in 1200).
Makes me wonder whether maybe medical marijuana shouldn’t be approved across the nation.
My struggle right now is to write more frequent and entertaining posts on this site. I need to grow my list of e-mail followers before my book is published in July. So, if you enjoy what you read here, please tell your friends or hit Share on your Facebook page.
What are you struggling with this day? Please write and tell me.