One Step and Two: Let go, let go!

Carrick-A-Rede, Ballintoy, County Antrim, Northern lreland

Everyone still has the stuff that emerges from underneath our childhood beds, the monsters (large or small) that, if successful, can keep us up in the night.  These fears can paralyze us, but they can also make us humble, provide insight into parts of our lives that are more fragile, more in need of holding and encouragements.

One of those, for me, is heights. Even though I grew up in the mountains, I learned quickly that my psyche didn't manage well – read: tended to shut down – when I was near a precipice.  Which is odd, considering the terrain that surrounded my younger years.

Continuing our journey clockwise around the Four Green Fields, we now ventured into Ulster, the northeastern corner of the island.  A treasure trove of destinations awaited us, but in my mind, the more cataclysmic of them was a place called "Carrick-A-Rede"  (Irish for "Rock of the Casting"). What is it?  It's a rope bridge, about 70 feet long and 100 feet above the North Atlantic Ocean, connecting the mainland to a small island that served as a fishing post years ago.  But it's the bridge itself that lures people to its gates.

I had known of this chasm and rope contraption for years.  In part, because of a playful song by the singer Cathie Ryan.  You can listen to the song here.  It's the refrain that's so compelling:

    One step and two, hold tight, let go

    Twenty and four, hold tight, let go

    I'm nearly there let go, let go – I'm nearly there let go, let go!

Sometimes, you just have to step out, trust to the rope bridge, look straight ahead (and not down), and steel yourself.  You can take these steps.  You can complete the journey.  You can hang out there in the wind, your creative self flapping in the breeze for all to see.  You can accomplish what it is you set out to do.

    I'll walk the miles from Ballintoy,
    No shining moon to light my way,
    Across the fields of Larrybane,
    And the rope bridge where my love waits....

I crossed the threshold of seventy this past year, and there are still a few dark things hiding under the bed.  As well, there a few bridges left to cross – things left to accomplish, love-goals left to strive towards.  More will be written about these things later, when the timing is right (as a musician, it's always important to be aware of the timing).  But for now, it's good to know that I can face a chasm and a rope bridge, make the crossing, let go of fear, move ahead – one step, and two, and more....