Author Archives: Phil Brennan

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    Time to rise again

    ‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well… for there is a force of love
    moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go.’
    (Mother Julian, 14th Century)

    It is time to re-boot the system and get up and going again. We can start planning without the fear that we may have to go it alone. The Camino of life is all about company and without it the path seems that bit more obscure. We’ve felt isolation like never before. If we’ve learned anything from this time it’s that human connection is everything – we need people on the journey. We now emerge from the fog a little wiser for what we have been through. It is not a time to look back. It is time to re-set our coordinates, to re-imagine, to dare to believe all over again.

    This time 20 years ago, I had just returned to teaching in Waterford. I’d managed our family business, the ‘64’ Lounge and Restaurant, in Gorey, Co. Wexford for 2 years but wanted to get back to a career I loved. Up to then, my life was cruising nicely at low altitude. There was little turbulence to throw me off course. I worked hard and lived for my chosen profession. In an instant, all changed. It was tough. I stumbled onwards in the dark no longer sure of my bearings. I felt alone in a world I could no longer understand. A light seeped through the ethereal sky to guide me on my way. Friends carried me when my own spirit began to wane. I had to find a courage I had not known before. Sometimes, you need to reach into the depths before you can rise again.

    We co-write the script of our destiny. The Camino of life does not follow a pre-determined course. It adapts to all that happens along the way. How we respond to those times when we’re tested most can make or break us. It can be easy to retreat, to withdraw into ourselves, to turn back. When the struggle is real, rest awhile and go easy. Keep believing in you. We are made of the same stuff of the universe, stardust even, a creative force that endures to the last. The power you need lies within. It’s there you come face to face with who you are. From somewhere deep inside you find the courage to get up and go again.

    Your attitude will determine where you go from here. It can be easier to gravitate right back to the familiar and miss out on the opportunities this time presents. How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change. If you’re not happy, re-set your bearings. If there’s something you’re itching to do, go out there and do it. Visualise, even dream, suspend your thinking for a while and allow your deepest instincts take over, draft a plan, then go for it. This first step, choosing a goal and sticking to it, changes everything. Choose wisely!

    Life reverberates to a new beat when we surrender to the unknown. Here, on the periphery, we sense we are not alone. The outdoors offer refuge beyond the reach of a busy world. No matter how great the torment, nature, in all its wild abandon, reminds us that all will be well. The oceans roll into shore with melodic ease as crimson skies unfurl the promise of a new day. A walk along the river bank, or stroll across the headland, or swim in the sea, or cycle on the Greenway, or trail along an ancient path… all have the power to re-connect you to source as if for the very first time. Natures way is the only way!

    Anthony de Mello tells the story of the Sannyasi, or wise one, and the precious stone… The Sannyasi had reached the outskirts of the village and settled down under a tree for the night when a villager came running up to him and said ‘Master, I have left my people and travelled here in the hope that you might give me the precious stone that will change my fortunes for evermore.’ The Sannyasi looked at the man, somewhat bemused, and stayed silent. The villager sensed his confusion and sought to clarify. ‘Last night the Lord Shiva appeared to me in a dream and told me that if I went to the outskirts of the village at dusk, I should find a Sannyasi who would give me a precious stone that would make me rich forever.’ The Sannyasi rummaged in his bag and pulled out a stone. ‘He probably meant this one’, as he handed the stone over to the villager. ‘I found it on a forest path some days ago. You can certainly have it.’ The man gazed at the stone in wonder. It was a diamond; larger than any precious stone he had seen before. He took the diamond and walked away. All night he tossed about in bed unable to sleep. Next day at the crack of dawn he woke the Sannyasi and said, ‘Give me the wealth that makes it possible for you to give this diamond away so easily’.

    Have a look around and see the ‘Sannyasi’ or wise ones who have made the deepest impact on your life. Often they’re the ones who work quietly below the radar. They do not act for show. They have known adversity and yet rise and rise again with stoic courage. Their wisdom lies camouflaged in the silence of their witness. They have unravelled the layers and have discovered for themselves the noblest truth of all – kindess is everything. They embody the spirit of the sacred word. Their love is of a kind that transcends time and space, creeds and ideologies. Their sense of fun, even when the struggle is great, is infectious. Time with them is like a balm for the soul; accepting, reassuring and such fun. You leave their presence all the better for the experience, knowing deep down you can still be the person they never stopped believing in. The truest diamond shines from within.

    I want to leave the last word this month to Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s whose book ‘To Speak for the Trees’ is uplifting and thought provoking in equal measure. Diana’s lineage can be traced back to the Beresfords of Curraghmore Estate in West Waterford but her path in life was very much shaped by events beyond the sanctuary of her surrounds. She was orphaned as a child and could so easily have been sent to the Magdalene Laundries. Instead, the O’ Donoghue elders in West Cork, from her mother’s side of the family, took her under their wing and Diana became the last ward under the Brehon Laws. Over the course of three summers, she was taught the Celtic triad of mind, body and soul, rooted in a vision of nature that values trees and forests as fundamental to human survival and spirituality. Diana became a prodigiously gifted scientist and ecological visionary who has challenged people the world over to see the universe in a whole new light.

    ‘To Speak for the Trees’ is full on inspiring anecdotes. One of note describes the day of the ‘field experiment’ when she and one of the elders, Pat, were left to harvest and entire field with no access to a tractor. With the inclement weather fast approaching, and the imminent threat it posed to the harvest, Pat and Diana devised a plan; his job to scythe the field one row at a time, hers to bind the sheaves and then arrange them into pyramid shape that kept the heads off the ground, so that the barley grain could dry and cure in the air. Inch by inch, row by row, they made it. The harvest was gathered before the sun went down on the day. It became a defining moment in Diana’s life…

    ‘It taught me the most valuable lesson of my life. Looking out on the field that morning, I didn’t believe
    we could finish the cut. It was too big a job and I was too small a helper. But because I love Pat and…
    because I loved that crop of barley and couldn’t stand to see it spoiled, I was prepared to try. I took a deep
    breath and a first step and both eventually led me to the knowledge that I was capable of things bigger
    than I’d imagined. I think every child, every person, should have an experience like the field experiment,
    something that thrusts them down a road they don’t think they can ever reach the end of – for love of
    themselves and other people and the world. When they eventually come to their destination, they will
    realise that even the impossible can be accomplished if you’re willing to take the first step and give it
    everything you’ve got. And then, like me, they will know they can do anything.’
    (Diana Beresford-Kroeger)

    Dr. Phil Brennan and Elaine are adding new Camino experiences to our existing range of offerings from March 2022. We are looking forward leading groups from the States, Norway, Britain and Ireland on our signature ‘Celtic Camino in the steps of St Declan’ in association with Cahir House Hotel and Mount Melleray Abbey along with our ‘Celtic Camino in Ireland’s South East’ in association with The Tower Hotel, Waterford. We will also be teaming up with Original Irish Hotels to roll out unique Camino experiences to include Glendalough, St. Mullins, Ardmore, Gougane Barra and Dingle. You can contact Phil and Elaine directly on info@waterfordcamino.com

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    Silent Night – the magic of Christmas

    Christmas time has its own magical allure. The lights, the gifts, the music, the myriad of sporting spectacles beamed live to our sitting rooms, the gatherings among family and friends, the scent of the turkey roasting in the oven, the frenzied shopping, the carnival atmosphere in town; all combine to create something wonderfully festive that eases us almost unknowingly through the dreariness of the Irish winter. Now, as the year rolls to a close, a faint glow makes its presence felt. The star still shines, oft’ hidden and unnoticed, to light the way.

    ‘Silent Night’ carries us back to where it all began. The poignant lilt of harmonies along with unadorned lyrics draw us deeper into the wonder of the Christmas story. This age-old carol has the power to stop us in our tracks. I’ve seen an elderly woman in a coma in a nursing home momentarily re-awaken and join us in song, noticed hardened men drawn to a space they thought they had left behind, viewed children by the crib transported on a musical odyssey back to the manger in Bethlehem, watched a homeless woman cradle the infant child while melodic notes from carol singers close by took on a meaning only she knew.

    Christmas without ‘Silent Night’ would feel incomplete. Over the past 40 years, it has been the one constant for me in the build up to Christmas. We’ve had to cancel a concert in Christ Church, Dublin this year, our visits to local nursing homes and our annual ‘Carols for our times’ in the Edmund Rice Chapel. In these strangest of times, it’s the one part of Christmas I’ll miss the most. ‘Silent Night’ is a warm balm on the coldest of Winter nights. We’ll appreciate it all the more when we do get back.

    The origin of this timeless carol is worth remembering. In 1818, a roving band of actors was performing in towns throughout the Austrian Alps. On December 23rd, they arrived at Oberndorf, a village near Salzburg, where they were to re-enact the story of Christ’s birth in the small Church of St. Nicholas. Given that the church organ was out of commission and would not be repaired before Christmas, the actors decided to present their version of the Christmas story in a private home.

    One of audience, assistant pastor Josef Mohr, was inspired to reflect anew on the meaning of Christmas. Instead of walking straight to his house that night, Mohr took a longer way home. His fateful Camino took him up over a hill overlooking the village. He stopped to survey the peaceful, snow-drenched citadel of light below. Reveling in the majestic silence of the wintry night, Mohr gazed down at the glowing Christmas card-like scene. Time past and present froze in creative fusion. He intuitively adapted a poem he had written years previously to the play he had just seen.

    Mohr enlisted the help of his friend, church organist Franz Xaver Gruber, to compose a musical setting for the poem that could sound well even without the church organ. Within hours they both sung ‘Stille Nacht’ at their Christmas Eve service before the small congregation in Oberndorf with the accompaniment of a guitar. It was beautifully understated, magical.

    Christmas 1914 on the battlefields of Messines brings us face to face with the power of this simple carol. Picture the scene. Young men and boys sunk in the blemished mud of Flemish and French trenches, ears reverberating to the terrifying sounds of shells exploding before them with a deafening defiance – scarcely imaginable to spectators from afar. Germans on one side; the French, British and Irish on the other. Between them, ‘no man’s land’ littered with the spoils of war, a sordid premonition of the fate in store for up to 13,000 soldiers a day.

    Yet, amidst the chaos, hope simmered fleetingly on the horizon. The German soldiers were sent Christmas trees from home and placed them above their trenches, numbing the oppressive doom that enveloped them. A strange confluence of dark and light rose from the shadowy mire. The luminous trail extended for miles, a seamless halo from afar that transfigured the wretched landscape. The soldiers were moved. They remembered their loved ones back home.

    They momentarily forgot where they were. And then the German tenor sang ‘Stille Nacht’. Soldiers from both sides fearlessly opted to leave the relative sanctuary of the trenches and embraced their ‘foe’ as their own. Stories were told, cigarettes smoked, brandy consumed, even a football match was played. Once hostile voices merged as one in common humanity.

    A young British soldier, Albert Moren, near La Chapelle D’Armentieres, France, recalled: “It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere; and… there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and then there were those lights – I don’t know what they were. And then they sang ‘Stille Nacht’ – ‘Silent Night’. I shall never forget it. It was one of the highlights of my life.”

    Against the bleakest of backdrops, a spark was lit and the shroud lifted. Humanity had become participants in the nativity story 1914 years on revealing the face of the infant Jesus to the world. Their song echoes in the stillness of the night. Hidden in the silhouette, their hushed murmurings can still be heard. Echoes from afar whisper softly through veiled skies. The men of 1914 did not just remember the first Christmas; they lived out its meaning.

    I was privileged to travel to Messines in December 2014 with The Island of Ireland Peace Choir to pay homage in song to the young men of the Christmas Truce on the 100th anniversary. It was deeply humbling to see the graves of two Irishmen side by side in one of the tiny cemeteries scattered across the furrowed fields. On one headstone: 24th of December 1914, Private Delaney; on the other, 29th of December 1914, Private Murphy. In between… the Christmas Truce. Something timeless spilled out onto the battlefield that silent night that must never be forgotten. Sleep in heavenly peace.

    One person made a deep impression on all of us privileged to meet her. Marie -Therese’s home overlooks the site of the Christmas Truce and for the previous 80 plus years of her life has welcomed visitors with tea and cakes as a token of her appreciation of the journeys they had made. She knew the significance of all that had happened on this hallowed land not too many years before she was born and understood the need to remember. Marie-Therese beamed with delight when we sang ‘Danny Boy’ for her on a pathway alongside her home. Her smile touched us all. She radiated warmth of a precious kind. Their spirit lives on through her.

    At the end of our concert that evening, we chose to give our Waterford Crystal vase to Marie-Therese, and not to the local dignitaries, much to the delight of almost everyone in the audience. We could see in her beautiful simplicity, in her resilient smile, in her resolute kindness proof of the power of human goodness to triumph even in those very situations that threaten its existence. Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore. Maybe, therein lies the message of Christmas.

    Phil and Elaine would like to wish you all a peaceful and happy Christmas and everything you wish for in 2022. We look forward to leading visitors from near and far on our Camino trails in Waterford, Glendalough, St. Mullins, Gougane Barra and Dingle over the coming year. For further information, check out our website on waterfordcamino.com or email us directly at info@waterfordcamino.com

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    A voyage into the unknown.

    We humans were never meant to live our lives in the safe sanctuary of the harbour. It pays to dream big, to set your bearings on a course that is unique to you and those who sail with you. Once you abandon yourself to the tumult of the seas, you hand over the reins of your destiny to a higher force. The ocean, for all its vastness, is the very place that leads you on your deepest odyssey into the unfathomable depths of your existence. Staying true to you and what matters to you is everything in life. As the spray lashes against your face and the waves rise with terrifying intent, hang on in there. Here, beyond the safety of the shoreline, you’ll soon discover what you’re made of.

    Polar explorer Ernst Shackleton boarded the ‘Endurance’ in August 1914 and set sail for Antarctica where he planned to cross the last uncharted continent on foot. In January 1915, after battling its way through a thousand miles of pack ice and only a day’s sail short of its destination, the ‘Endurance’ drifted northwest over 10 months before it was finally crushed between two ice-floes. With no options left, Shackleton and a skeleton crew attempted a near-impossible journey over 850 miles of the South Atlantic’s heaviest seas to the closest outpost of civilisation… Their survival, and the survival of the men they left behind, depended on their small lifeboat successfully finding the island of South Georgia – a tiny dot of land in a vast and hostile ocean.

    Alfred Lansing’s book ‘Endurance’ captures the enormity of the feat and the resilience it asked of the crew. It’s a powerful story that transcends time and place to reveal how the human spirit can triumph at those very moments when the normal contours of our world disappear into oblivion. Shackleton, Crean and the rest of the crew needed to draw on reserves of courage to help them overcome; something deep, indomitable, uncrushable inside that carried them through the torrent against all the odds. What these men unearthed from within kept them alive. Broken though unbowed, each man distilled life down to the very core. Perspectives changed. The awakening dawn shed a cold, fragile light on the rawest of human instincts… their innate capacity to see beyond the enveloping mists and retrieve all they needed to help they make it home safely. I’ve chosen a few lines from the book that speak to me in the hope that they will do the same for you…

    On your darkest night…

    ‘In all the world there is no desolation more complete than the polar night. It is a return to the Ice Age – no warmth, no life, no movement. Only those who have experienced it can fully appreciate what it means to be without the sun day after day and week after week.’

    There are times in all our lives when the lights go out, when all that we once lived for seems to vanish before our eyes. We wish we could wind back the clock and restore things to their natural order. You will have moments when you feel you cannot wade through your pain, your loss, your brokenness in the face of all that the world has thrown your way. Hang in there, do what it takes to find something to live for, keep believing in you especially in those lonely hours when it’s a struggle to do so. You will find something inside. You will endure to the last. This time will pass.

    In a barren land, keep the embers of hope alight…

    ‘After five days of exhausting struggle, they were suddenly idle. Now there was almost nothing to do, except to think… Many of them, it seemed, finally grasped for the first time just how desperate things really were, more correctly, they became aware of their own inadequacy, of how utterly powerless they were… But then came the march, a journey which was to carry them nearly 200 miles. Yet after only five days and 9 small miles in a straight line to the northwest, they had stopped completely and even forced to retreat. So they sat in the camp, disillusioned and humbly aware how truly powerless they were to overcome the forces they faced, regardless of how much strength and determination they put forth. The realization was not so much humiliating as frightening.’

    ‘They were crammed together in overcrowded tents, lying in reindeer or woolen sleeping bags on bare ice… at meal times they sat in the snow… And yet, they had adjusted with surprisingly little trouble to their new life, and most of them were quite sincerely happy. The adaptability of the human creature is such that they actually had to remind themselves on occasion of their desperate circumstance.’

    If we allow ourselves to be submerged in self-pity, we will go under. It can be scary to be robbed of what makes your life worth living. We’ve got to pick ourselves back up; small, slow yet resolute steps to help re-kindle that spark again. We owe it to the people that really matter to us. Your life has a worth beyond what you might be able to see at that moment. Rest in at the isle for a while. Do not reason or analyse too much. That can come later. Simply soak in the stillness and feel the calm. When the time is right, hoist those sails again secure in the knowledge that you are not alone. The people we love the most are never too far away. You will see the signs for yourself with each new passing day.

    Kindness will carry you…

    ‘Then on January 13, a rumor spread that Shackleton was considering killing the dogs to ease the drain on the food supplies. Among the men, reactions ranged from simple resignation to outraged shock. Stormy debates on the value of the dogs against the food they consumed broke out in each tent that night. But the fundamental, underlying factor in the discussions was that, for many men, the dogs were more than so many pounds of pulling power on the trail; there was a deep emotional attachment involved. It was the basic human need to love something, the desire to express tenderness in this barren place. Though the dogs were vicious, surly beasts with one another, their devotion and loyalty toward the men was above question. And the men responded with an affection greatly surpassing anything they would have felt under ordinary circumstances.’

    When you strip life down to the core essentials, only kindness matters. The rest dissolves into the fading embers of evening light. To act with compassion isn’t always valued in a world that tends to place personal accomplishment and profile above all other considerations. Those who have stared adversity in the face are the wiser for it. They soon discover that life is best lived in solidarity with others, especially those with their own burdens to carry. Be sound, be kind… it’ll be what endures when all else sheds like auburn leaves from autumnal trees.

    Trust the universe. It will not let you down…

    ‘The scene from the deck of the Endurance was often fantastically beautiful. In clear weather, if the moon was out, it swept in bold, high circles through the starlit skies for days on end, casting a soft, pale light over the floes. At other times, there were breath-taking displays of the aurora australis, the Antarctic equivalent of northern lights. Incredible sunburst of green and blue and silver shot up from the horizon into the blue-black sky, shimmering, iridescent colours that glinted off the rock-hard ice below.’

    ‘Gradually the sea grew calmer. The sky was clear, and finally the sun rose in unforgettable brilliance through a pink mist along the horizon, which soon melted into flaming gold. It was more than just a sunrise. It seemed to flood into their souls, rekindling the life within them. They watched the growing light quenching the wild, dark misery to the night that now, at last, was over.’

    ‘Most of the men were awakened once during glorious night to stand an hour’s watch, and even this was almost pleasure. The night was calm, and the sky was clear. The moon shone on the little pebbled beach, washed by the waves, a scene of utter tranquility.’

    It pays to align our cadence to the rhythm of the universe. Nature has a way of slowing the pulse right down. Make time for those trails that draw you out beyond your normal boundaries. Woodlands, river walks, mountain tracks, headland trails all open the pores of our humanity to the intricate beauty of it all. We soon come face to face with the mystery of our existence and discover the simple yet magical truth that we are part of something far greater than ourselves. The tiniest, microscopic thread of nature reveals something of the infinite in a way our busy lives would never allow us notice. Wisdom appears, unannounced, to inspire you to see what once passed you by. Slow the pace and feel the deeper peace as if for the very first time.

    It is never too late to start living. The odyssey you are destined for will not be handed to you. You have to play your part. Dare to push the boat out. You’ll be glad you did!

    Photo of the ‘Endurance’ courtesy of BBC Archive.

    Rest of the photos taken in Glendalough, November 2021.

    Dr Phil and Elaine are looking forward to leading groups from the States, Norway, Britain and Ireland on our signature ‘Celtic Camino – in the steps of St Declan’ in association with Cahir House Hotel and Mount Melleray Abbey along with our ‘Celtic Camino in Ireland’s South East’ in association with The Tower Hotel, Waterford.

    We will also be teaming up with Original Irish Hotels to roll out unique Camino experiences to include Glendalough, St. Mullins, Ardmore, Gougane Barra and Dingle.

    You can contact Phil and Elaine directly on info@waterfordcamino.com. We’ll be updating our website www.waterfordcamino.com over the next few weeks to reflect these new offerings.

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    The Camino of life

    ‘Path-walker, your footprints and nothing else are the Camino; Path-walker, there is no path, the Camino is formed as you move.’
    (Antonio Machado)

    We create our own path in life. Others can guide us on our way, but, ultimately you and you alone can shape the course of what is yet to come. The compass to your future lies within. It takes courage to stay true to your course. Dare to believe in you especially in those hours when you’re tested most. There’s a spark inside that will not let you down. Honour it lest the moment pass you by. Take that first step. Your footprints will steer you on your way.

    Align your path in life with all that matters to you. Invest your energies wisely. We get one shot at it, we may as well get it right. Do not force the pace. Take a moment to soak in the panoramic beauty that opens up before you. No matter what each new day brings, always seek out your own oasis of calm. The outdoors have a magic all of their own. Almost unknowingly, the universe will step in and nudge you in the right direction. That walk by the river’s edge, that stroll along the headland, that road few have travelled… unearth something in us we may not otherwise have known. We are creatures of depth, so too our world. Stardust floating through the vastness of time has found its way to you. It takes just one spark to light the way.

    Autumnal shades add a poignant beauty to our trails at this time of the year as light ebbs slowly into distant skies. I often think of those who have shaped the person I have become. We all have people we wish were still with us. The simplest of things stir their memory. We sense them near though far. Nothing can fill the aching void of absence. We hear them speak through the silence as falling leaves swirl in gracious homage to the mystery of it all. We rise again as a crimson glow seeps into our bones. There’s a life to be lived. The way feels warmer now.

    Everyone walks to their own rhythm in life. The Camino is no different. We are one but we’re not the same. It’s the steps in between that matter most as we make our way. The destination… that can come later. Kindness is what carries us when our own spirits begin to wane. I’d always notice those who slow their own pace so as to make time for someone else. The beauty of this gesture lies in its simplicity; a quiet word of encouragement, an attentive ear, a willingness to pause and take a breather. Unheralded acts of human kindness have a power beyond what the eye can see. The road does not seem as long anymore!

    There are times in life when you face into a storm you never saw coming. Out of nowhere, a deluge descends leaving you exposed to the ravages of the elements. It can we a scary place to be. Even on good days, when we feel the sun on our back, we can lose our bearings; we make mistakes, we overrule our better judgement, we invest our energy in people who are nowhere to be seen when we need them most. We become participants in a drama that somehow leaves us doubting ourselves.

    It’s then you’ve got to find courage from somewhere. Turning back on all you’ve lived for is not an option. Keep believing in you, in life, in whatever it takes to help you drive on. You have a value beyond what the world can reach. No less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here. Step back from those who ridicule your demise. Bitterness weakens and consumes. Instead, gravitate towards the people who see your worth. This time will pass.

    There’s a depth to us all we should never under-estimate. Something ‘kicks in’ to help us overcome. Our Celtic Camino along St Declan’s Way is a test of stamina. 25km every day for 5 days in succession pushes you to the limits of your endurance. I’ve seen a woman in her mid-70’s haul her way over the Knockmealdowns and draw on every fibre of her being to make it into Mount Melleray. Stoic courage of this kind inspires at the deepest of levels. Pilgrim paths of old call us beyond ourselves into the vast unknown. It’s good to test ourselves against the elements every once in a while. Here on the periphery, we come face to face with the truth about ourselves and our place in the world. Wisdom of this kind lingers long into the night.

    Your life is not mapped out for you in advance. Reach out for your destiny but with a light hold on the reins. Allow space for the universe to intervene. We cannot do it on our own. We are stronger when we are part of something greater than ourselves. Places of solitude and quiet connect us to source. We were never meant to heave from one target to the next at the speed of light. We need space to just breathe, to come to the well, to tune into the deeper melodic strains that make life worth living. We soon discover each note matters, we matter. Stillness calls us beyond ourselves in search of something deeper. Peace descends in the telepathic flights of the starlings as they make their way home.

    We are all custodians of something timeless in our midst. Our ancestors have left an indelible mark on the universe that we need to value now more than ever. It is good to seek out those sacred spaces that have been passed on to us by those who have walked this way before. Pilgrim places draw us deeper into the soul of our people. Our Celtic past has shaped who we have become. A visit to the dimmed enchantment of an old monastic ruins on a hill in Ardmore has the power to draw us deeper into the vast expanse of mystery that surrounds us. Now is the time to distil all that we have inherited and re-claim the treasure that lies within its ruins… not just for ourselves but for those who have yet to pass this way.

    If we’ve learned anything from the last year, it’s that friendships matter. It’s lovely to unwind as each day moves to a close. Good company, tasty food, the bit of craic, a song or two… puts the seal on all that has gone before. True companions are everything on the Camino of life. It’s then the pieces come together and the way becomes clear.

    ‘Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path and that will make all the difference.’
    (Steve Jobs)

    Dr. Phil and Elaine Brennan are looking forward to leading groups from the States, Norway, Britain and Ireland in 2022 on our signature ‘Celtic Camino – in the steps of St Declan’ in association with Cahir House Hotel and Mount Melleray Abbey along with our ‘Celtic Camino in Ireland’s South East’ in association with The Tower Hotel, Waterford. We will also be teaming up with Original Irish Hotels to roll out unique Camino experiences to include Glendalough, St. Mullins, Ardmore, Gougane Barra and Dingle. You can contact Phil and Elaine directly on info@waterfordcamino.com We’ll be updating our website www.waterfordcamino.com over the next few weeks to reflect these new offerings.

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    Steps along the Irish Camino – from Wales with love

    Celtic Blessing
    May you learn to be yourself
    To be happy in your skin
    To know where you are going
    And learn from where you’ve been.
    May your guide show you the true path
    May your feet find solid ground
    May your journey be eventful
    And your way home be finally found.
    (Iain Tweedale)

    After several false starts due to Covid restrictions I finally managed to make my way over to Ireland to join in Phil and Elaine’s first St Declan’s Way in August. This was closely followed with us bringing over a Journeying group from the UK in September for our Irish Camino.

    Both were wonderful and varied Camino experiences and the people we walked with, talked with and shared meals with demonstrated what I love so much about Ireland: the warm welcome and, of course, the craic!

    St Declan’s Way follows in footsteps of the saint as he travelled back to his home in Ardmore after a meeting with St Patrick in Cashel. Twenty five kilometres a day for five straight days led to a stiff knee and a few blisters on the feet, but much more important was the amazing sense of achievement as we reached the sea on Ardmore beach at the journey’s end. Walking on pilgrimage together is like no other experience I know. Leave all the arrangements to Phil, Br Phil and Elaine and just walk, surrounded by nature, your internal thoughts and the company of new friends who encourage and entertain you as you plod along.

    The Irish Camino in partnership with Journeying was a very different but no less wonderful experience, with us driving to different locations across Ireland’s Ancient East from our base in Waterford. From the Mahon Falls in the Comeragh Mountains, Ardmore and Dunmore East, through to St Mullins, Ferns and Lismore, we saw so many places and met so many amazing and hospitable people who opened their hearts and homes to us.

    Two places really stood out for me: the first was the Japanese Gardens in Tramore where members of the Island of Ireland Peace Choir played for us. The second was the 6th Century monastic settlement of Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains where Fr Michael Rodgers gave us a beautiful mystical guided tour.

    I enjoyed these trips so much that we’ve already got a plan to do both again next year and if you’re considering coming with us, here are some of the comments that this year’s pilgrims sent us, to entice you a little further:

    We had a really wonderful week and experienced so much thanks to you, Phil and Elaine. . . I’m really glad Journeying is adding Ireland again to the programmes and the creative connection with Waterford Camino is great. I continue to recommend it all highly to friends! Yvonne, England.

    What an amazing week. Thank you for introducing me to your beautiful area around Waterford, to many lovely people but mostly for sharing your love, your story and your soul. It would be impossible to pick a highlight – beautiful mountains and coastlines, your mum, Elaine, reflections and blessings but for me it was music that lifted the week to another level. The joy of the cloisters and especially David piping with you, Phil, in the Japanese Garden will never be forgotten. You have provided wonderful memories and a springboard for a future lived in the ‘present’. Father Michael’s words ‘death is our destiny but we are called to live’ makes living each day a completely different and more sacred experience. Liz, England.

    Thanks for organising such a wonderful coming together of Journeying and Waterford Camino. All the best as you work to bring the Celtic roots connections together. Isobel, Scotland.

    The reflections were lovely, the places we went to spectacular, and then to bring to another level the music. I have met some very special people on this journey and the laughs we had at the dinner table most evenings was something else. Maria, Dublin.

    Thank you Phil and Elaine for doing such a wonderful job in leading us along St. Declan’s Way. I really enjoyed every minute of my time spent with you all. Very well organised and we had no stress or anything to worry about. Accommodation, food and everything else was fantastic. Thanks also to Br Phil and lain for taking care of us. Thanks for a memorable week everyone and hope we can go on another walk in the near future. Pauline, Celbridge

    It was a lovely week so well organised and I can imagine the organisation involved but like you said we all survived to tell a great story. So glad I did it thank you all again. Martina, Dublin.

    Sincere thanks for a wonderful memorable week which I am only beginning to process at so many different levels. Your hard work and preparation paid off. Thanks to our fellow walkers who helped me along the way. A very special time. Lucy, Celbridge.

    It was indeed a memorable week, the experience of a lifetime. Thanks to everyone who helped to make it so special. I will treasure it always. Anne, Celbridge

    What a week, what a week, what a week, it was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. All your efforts paid off, it was exceptional. You got eighteen people across the line in Ardmore after 125km of walking from Cashel, all in one piece, that was such an achievement. I don’t need to mention anyone in particular, but all the people we met along the way were just fabulous personalities and so friendly, helpful and accommodating. The food and accommodation were excellent. Now I know that all of that was arranged by you Phil and Elaine. What a team you are. All your hard work paid off. May all your dreams come true. Mary, Drogheda.

    And I’ll finish with a new Celtic Blessing, which came to me after the trip to Glendalough:

    May the silence of the lough
    speak to you
    And the boughs of the tress
    shelter you
    May the prayers of the saints
    enfold you
    And the safety of the saints
    protect you
    With the silence of the lough

    Special thanks to Iain Tweedale, Wales, for writing this month’s blog and to all who shared their reviews of their time with us. We welcome Iain too as team leader with Waterford Camino Tours and look forward to sharing the path with him in the years to come. Elaine and myself know that the Camino is only as good as the people we get to share it with. The last few months have been immense and we look forward to rolling out St. Declan’s Way and our Irish Camino Experience in association with Journeying going into 2022.

    For further details, check out www.waterfordcamino.com or contact Phil and Elaine directly on info@waterfordcamino.com

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    Scribbles of a curious wanderer along the way of St Declan

    Setting out is not covering miles of land or sea or travelling faster than the speed of light.
    It is first and foremost opening ourselves to other people, trying to get to know them, going out to meet them…It is possible to travel alone,
    but the good traveller knows that the journey is human life and life needs company.
    (Dom Helder Camara)

    Make a pact with yourself to walk a Camino some time in your life. Once you take that first step out into the unknown, you will want to keep going. It is more than just an adventure. It is an odyssey of sorts that draws you beyond the safer sanctuaries you have left behind to a space the world cannot reach. The way of St Declan has been over 1,500 years in the making. Voyagers from times past have carved their footprint in the land; labourers, pilgrims, rebels, saints, adventurers – each with a story we may never know. As you leave the ancient citadel on the hill in Cashel behind, you sense the spirit of those who have passed this way before. It is we who follow in their steps. Their imprints show us the way.

    The moment you set out from the Rock of Cashel you know you’ll need to draw on every fibre of your being to make it all the way to Ardmore some 115km away. It’s just you, your backpack, your companions and the universe. So much of what you once depended on no longer matters. Your phone is safely tucked away. The world can wait. This time is your time! St Declan’s Way delivers more than it asks of you. It pushes you to the limits of your endurance and demands an honesty from you but somehow you make it. There’s a life force that carries you, an elemental bond with a universe that reveals its beauty around every bend. There’s no need to force the pace. Getting there matters but so too the steps in between!

    The Camino is all about the people you get to share it with. It’s the company that keeps you going just when you feel the fatigue kick in. When you’re walking, you find your own cadence. You walk to the beat that suits you. It pays to slow down on occasion and enjoy the camaraderie of a fellow traveller. It is then the magic happens. Before you know it, they know someone you know and the connection is made. You will meet people you may never meet again, yet, something happens that stays with you long after you’ve returned home. Their story so often sheds a unique light on your own. It’s as though they speak a truth you were meant to hear. You hardly realise you’re scaling the Knockmealdowns at its highest point and about to descend through the woods into Mount Melleray. On Camino, the chats are everything.

    It’s good to take a little time on your own too along the way. There’s no need to reason, analyse or think. Just you alone in the universe. As you blaze your solitary trail, it’s like stepping outside yourself for a moment and watching all that has happened in your life pass before you like flickered reels on an old film. It is strangely cathartic to stare in the face all that once defined you and accept it for what it is. Beautiful and all as your story may be, there is pain in there too. Every one of us knows what it feels like to have to pick up the pieces and start all over again. The Camino of life can be the toughest of them all. But it does not have to defeat you. The stream you pass has stepping stones, each resisting the tumult of the waters, each stoic in its self defence, each inviting you to make your way home.

    St Declan’s Way has a little bit of everything – castles, forts, holy wells and hallowed vaults, streams, rivers, mountains, vales; each echoing to timeless strains barely audible to the passer-by. It’s as though past and present collide in perfect symphony to open up the wonder of nature in ways you may not have noticed before. It’s simply magical to walk by the water’s edge alongside the River Blackwater as you leave Lismore en route to Cappoquin. Just 2 kilometers of exquisite beauty and peace. The Castle we leave behind still beats to the pulse of a bygone time. It retains its mystique, its mesmeric charm; its lofty walls privy to stories the passing world may never hear. In the distance, silent silhouettes emerge from shades of dawn as anglers take their place along the river bank. They stand there, still, focused, shrouded in the mystery that surrounds them, oblivious to the curious observer from afar. Lines cast ripple outwards in great, gentle waves to somewhere deep inside. It touches you to the core. You’ve got to be there to sense it!

    We pass this way but once. Prophets tell us that we never quite walk into the same stream twice. The texture changes with the changing tides of time in a nod to all that has happened in between. Yet the river moves with a reassuring calm, unswerving in its course. It pays to slow the pace and listen. In the stillness, you sense you are not alone. The silence lingers. Here, beyond the noise and restlessness of the world, you find peace in every step. What once burdened you surrenders to something deeper. Swallows descend in telepathic streams as if to rouse you from your reverie and remind you of all that awaits in the days ahead. Time to get a move on! The mist lifts and a pathway, once obscured, becomes clear again.

    The final day along St Declan’s Way is as liberating as it gets. By now, your muscles are conditioned to the demands of the task and they work on autopilot. They ache a little but you have that spring in your step needed to make it to the end. The sea appears on the horizon and stays there elusively beyond your reach until you arrive on the beach at Ardmore some two hours later. It’s good to take your hiking boots off and feel the cool water massage your feet. We retrieve the child-like wonder of it all as if for the very first time. Our footprints linger until the tides roll in to shore. We climb the holy hill and rest awhile in solitude beneath the tower. It feels good!

    Arrive on Camino open to discovering something new about your place in the universe. The great outdoors have a way of nudging you in the right direction. It’s better to simply let go of your presumptions about life for a while and let the journey itself take hold of you. Dare to take that first step. You’ll be glad you did!

    ‘Dare to Be’

    When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.

    When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.

    When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.

    When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.

    When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.

    When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.

    When you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going.

    When times are tough, dare to be tougher.

    When love hurts you, dare to love again.

    When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.

    When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.

    When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.

    When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.

    When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.

    When the day has ended, dare to feel as you’ve done your best.

    Dare to be the best you can –

    At all times, Dare to be!
    (Steve Maraboli)

    This Sunday, August 29th 2021, we lead our first group along St Declan’s Way. We look forward to sharing the path with our friends from Celbridge. After all the uncertainties of the last 18 months, it’s great to be back. In late September we lead a group from Our Lady’s Hospice and into next year we look forward to welcoming groups from around Ireland, Norway and the States. For further information, check out www.waterfordcamino.com You can contact Phil and Elaine directly on info@waterfordcamino.com

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    The day has come…

    When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own.
    There are times of great uncertainty in every life. Left alone at such a time, you feel dishevelment and confusion like gravity…
    (John O’ Donohue)

    We can’t wait to lead our first group along St Declan’s Way at the end of August. Our voyage in business has taken a circuitous route since we started out 4 years ago but it has led us to where we want to be. In a strange, somewhat fortuitous twist of fate, the pandemic has given us the time to take a more circumspect look at our tours and to hone in on what can work best for us as we come out the other side. It has not been easy to be honest. Like many others, we’ve had to press pause for most of the last 18 months. We’ve had to dig deep. We’ve had no choice. We are ready to rise again.

    On the Camino of life you quickly learn that you cannot do it on your own. St Declan’s Way is no different. Each journey is only as good as the people you share it with. What stays with you are the unscripted moments that you could never plan for. Over the course of the 5 arduous days of walking, you learn to rely on the comraderie of others when the going gets tough. It’s the chats that carry you – the stories, the laughs, the songs. 23km each day 5 days in succession is not easy. An elemental solidarity kicks in and you know you’ll make it to the end. It’s hard to explain it. Strangers become friends almost unknowingly. It’s sealed over a pint or a cuppa when the walking is done. It’s the simple things that make it all the more worthwhile.

    Before starting out on our path from the Rock of Cashel, we take a little time to connect to source – from where it all began. It was at this very location St. Patrick conferred on St. Declan the status of Bishop of the Déisi Muman people of Waterford after one of the many occasions when they met here. What few realise is that Declan had been working with missionary zeal in the South East of Ireland long before the coming of St. Patrick in 431AD and that his epic Camino over and back to Cashel from Ardmore to meet with Patrick actually predates the iconic Camino de Santiago in Spain by over 400 years. A carved stone icon of Declan stands quietly, resolute, amid the silent ruins of a bygone time. In the stillness you feel the timeless wonder of it all.

    St Declan’s Way is more than a journey of 115km but a journey through time of well over 1,500 years. Here on this ancient ‘Rian Bó Padraigh’ once trodden by the saints of old, we pass castles and forts, holy wells and hidden vaults, breathtaking views and barren places – an eclectic collage of visual sensations that seep deep into the prism of the mind as we make our way. Faint whispers rise above the hallowed hill and linger for a while. In the solitude, you hear the distant echo. You sense the presence of those who have walked this way before. It is they who have blazed the trail… we who follow in their steps.

    The Knockmealdown Mountains are absorbing in their beauty and in the challenge they present. Day 3 and the limbs are tiring. The 14km hike over the mountain pass down into Mount Melleray will live long in the memory. This is wilderness; bleak, barren, remote yet compelling in its simplicity and in the honesty it asks of you. The lens widens to reveal a pattern that can be lost in the minutiae of life below. The panorama opens up as one vast kaleidoscope of vista and colour that rolls out gracefully to the seas beyond. Your eye gravitates to the River Blackwater as it navigates its mystical course through shimmering light en route to Youghal. You’ll be glad of the cuppa when you descend the tree lined pathway into the Abbey. You might just feel like something a little stronger when you realise that you still have another 10km to go before you arrive in Lismore! It’s all part of the Camino experience.

    Herein lies the magic of St Declan’s Way. Each trail gives you space to breathe, to step back a little from the world for a while and connect to source again. It is good to detox, to clear the head of all that burdens it, to find perspective. It is strangely reassuring to know that whatever it is you’re going through, others before you have gone through more and persevered to the end. The destination matters, but so too the steps in between. Along St Declan’s Way, no two days are the same; one day you’re hiking over a mountain, another by the water’s edge as it rolls from source to the seas beyond, passing castles and forts, old monastic settlements and vibrant eco spaces – each concealing secrets beyond the gaze of the passer-by.

    We place a real value in creating experiences along the way that will live long in the memory. We have assembled a team of guides that allow us to do just that; Iain Tweedale from Wales with his quietly spoken wisdom to match the warmth of his smile, Br Phil Ryan with his assuring stride and intimate knowledge of the land, Alice O’ Donoghue with her honesty and passion for all things ‘Lismore’, Mark Rylands who leads us over the Knockmealdowns in a way that brings the microscopic to life, not to mention the ‘Boss’ herself, Elaine, who has a way of putting everyone at their ease and making sure we all make it to Ardmore with a spring in our step even when our energies are waning. Almost unknowingly, you unearth reserves of courage that you never knew you had and somehow you find the strength to keep going. You re-claim the truest version of yourself. You feel the release from all that has held you back to this point. You find your way home.

    Our planning is done and the pieces are falling nicely into place. Coach transfers are sorted each day in association with Suirway Coaches, we come back each evening to the comfort of our en suite rooms whether it is in The Tower Hotel, Waterford, Cahir House Hotel or the Guest Rooms in Mount Melleray Abbey. Luggage is transferred onwards each day and waiting for you in your room on arrival, packed lunches on your table each morning for the day ahead, dinner each evening – all culminating in a Gala Dinner on the final night in the 13th Century Choristers’ Hall in Waterford Treasures to celebrate the feat and to receive your stamped Pilgrim Passport. It was from here over 500 years ago Mayor James Rice set sail to do the Camino de Santiago on two occasions. Ancient vaults welcome the pilgrim home once again. It’s fitting too that our first group is from Celbridge in Kildare. Our very first Camino started our with Bridie O’ Connor and her friends over 4 years ago. We’ve seen them every year since. Loyalty of this kind is priceless!

    It’s hard to stay positive when the elements conspire against you. Trust us, there were days over the past year when we wondered if our business would withstand the tumult. Our raft was floating out to sea at the mercy of elements we were powerless over. You connect to something deeper to carry you when the winds are up. You’ve got to trust the universe, you’ve got to trust yourself. You will find your bearings all over again. You’ve just got to wait for the tide to turn!

    Do not fight against the torrent, do not look for that immediate quick fix, never worry what the world will think, do not force a resolution that will not last; instead seek out stillness, listen to the lapping of the waters, observe the majesty of the birds in flight, become aware that you are part of something far greater than yourself. Peace of this kind is rare. It does not present itself cheaply. You have to earn it. You have to be prepared to step back from the world as you know it and simply breathe.

    Then you discover for yourself what philosophers, poets and mystics have tried to articulate over the years – the source of life is all around us. You feel it in the kindness of a friend, in the humming of a lark, in the setting of the sun. Listen and you will hear. Wait for the door to open. Wait for the dawn to break!

    …When a friend comes with words of encouragement, a light and lightness visit you and you
    begin to find the stairs and the door out of the dark.
    The sense of encouragement you feel from the friend is not simply her words or gestures; it is
    rather her whole presence enfolding you and helping you to find the concealed door.
    The encouraging presence manages to understand you and put herself in your shoes.
    There is no judgment but words of relief and release.
    (John O’ Donohue)

    Dr. Phil Brennan and his wife Elaine look forward to rolling out St. Declan’s Way this autumn. It will be lovely to share the path with Our Lady’s Hospice and The Marie Keating Foundation in the months ahead and to be welcoming groups from Escape Travel, Norway and Celtic Journeys, USA from Spring 2022. You can contact Phil and Elaine directly on info@waterfordcamino.com For further information, check out www.waterfordcamino.com

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    The wellbeing way – Waterford

    “With room to breathe and room to think, we can live a more meaningful life.
    And this type of ‘room’ is not necessarily physical space; rather,
    it is the absence of all that is extraneous alongside the sweet feeling of liberation
    that comes with realising that you have enough,
    and that you are enough, just as you are.”

    (Michelle Ogundehin)

    The day breaks as the sun casts its crimson glow across the bay on this summer solstice morning to announce the arrival of a new dawn. If this time has taught us anything, it’s that time itself is precious. We stand here on a stepping stone between all that has passed and all that is yet to come. This moment matters!

    It is not always easy to slow down in a world that moves at pace. Exertion without rest drains us to the core and dims our coordinates. We heave our way from one target to the next on the treadmill of life and rarely connect to source. The last year has been a ‘wake up’ call for us all. It has made us slow down a little and given us the space to weigh up what matters. It is good to press pause now and again. Here, by the water’s edge, we learn to let go of the excess, to shed anything that does not serve us well. The waves roll to shore with unwavering ease to remind us that we are part of something far greater than ourselves – that we are not alone.

    Everyone needs a little solitude, a chance to retreat to your very own ‘still zone’ and just be. From this place of silence, we find peace. We are ready then to rise and allow the light we have drawn from source guide us the rest of the way. It is good to break free to the waters and the wild, to breathe in the freshness of the open air, to feel the breeze on your face, to freewheel in the slipstream of the natural wonders that await around every bend. There’s a life force at play here, something primordial, elemental even, that carries you along. Once we step off the beaten track, we leave the world as we know it behind for a while. It feels good to be alive!

    We all walk the Camino of life with a cadence and a spirit that is uniquely ours. No two people are the same. Unscripted moments along the path often lead to unknown places you would never find on your own. People pass your way for a reason, each with their own story to tell, their own song to sing. We’ve discovered this for ourselves over the last few years on our Camino trails. Two such people, Deirdre Lawlor and Sinead Gaynor, joined us on a Camino weekend last September and a ‘spark’ was lit. They’re stuck with us now! These encounters do not always happen by chance. I’ll let our two friends, part of the aptly titled the ‘Hiking Hussies’ from Prospect, Ballymoney, tell the story from here…

    Deirdre – It was September 2020 and we just about got to squeeze in our trip to Waterford before everything closed down again! A friend had booked a group of us for a weekend on the Waterford Camino. I had no idea what to expect but was happy to be getting away!

    From the moment we arrived, Elaine and Phil made us feel like we were visiting old friends. We only stayed for one night and reluctantly left on Sunday after our boat trip in Dunmore East. Over the course of the two days we laughed, we cried, we reflected and we ate! Spending time in nature with Phil and Elaine as our guides was an experience that stayed with me long after we got home.

    I have been passionate about wellness and self-development for a long time. My background is in early years education and I was always fascinated by the beautiful and curious nature of children and the change that happens when they get a bit older and become conscious of what society expects from them. They say we are born knowing love and learn to fear – it’s so true.

    During a particularly turbulent time in my life, I looked for answers everywhere but eventually realised that everything I needed was inside. That spurred me on to train as coach and NLP Practitioner specialising in personal wellbeing and development. Many of us carry hidden wounds in life. I guess life has taught me that real healing comes within. The weekend away in Waterford awakened something in me that had always been there. Sometimes it is good to give yourself a little space to retrieve from within the reserves you need to help you handle what life throws at you. Time with Phil and Elaine did just that. It got me thinking…

    Sinead – As I look out tonight across a magnificent sunset sky, I am in awe of the beauty all around me and find myself counting my blessings. To the forefront of my mind and my musings are my friends, ‘the hiking hussies’, that have become such a big part of my life in recent years. We were the fortunate ones last Autumn stealing away from Covid fatigue, our families and commitments to enjoy some much-needed down time in each other’s company.

    I knew there were plans to walk the Waterford Greenway, experience the now extended Dunmore East Cliff Walk and hike in the Comeragh mountains, but nothing could have prepared me for the memories I know I will cherish and remember for many years to come. I immediately liked both Phil and Elaine, and was struck by their passion and energy, their wicked sense of fun and their clear, genuine intent to give us ‘hussies’ a truly great holiday. Little did we know that some weeks later we would join forces to begin a partnership that has culminated in an exciting new business venture – the Wellbeing Way.

    As we hiked through some of Waterford’s most spectacular scenery, I got to know Elaine and Phil and they got to know me and my good friend and business partner Deirdre. I shared some of my own background, what was important to me and how much I admired what they were doing with Waterford Camino Tours. They listened. I just knew deep down something special was happening.

    My passion and interest in Wellbeing has stemmed from my 20 plus year practice as an executive coach and leadership development facilitator. In running my own corporate training and development business I have always appreciated and valued the importance of self-care and I live by the motto ‘you cannot pour from an empty cup’.

    My own cup was overbrimming with renewed passion, energy and vitality following our mini-Camino and so I wondered if there was a way of channeling our collective gifts into creating a ‘time-out’ that was unique to us and built on the natural synergy between the wellbeing, resilience and personal development work I was doing for my clients, the life coaching expertise Deidre brought to the table and the magic of Phil and Elaine… a few months later, here we are, on the cusp of where we want to be…

    Our wellbeing way has the beautiful surrounding of Faithlegg House Hotel in Waterford as our base where you will have a chance to relax and unwind after spending the day walking along the headland in Dunmore East, or cycling a stretch of the Waterford Greenway, swimming or paddle-boarding in between and having the craic! The universe works its own unique brand of magic. We just create the conditions and allow the rest to happen. We will be rolling out our ‘Wellbeing Way – Waterford’ this autumn. It will evolve in its own way as it is meant to. We can’t wait!

    Time out off the beaten track is good for mind, body and soul. It’s strangely liberating to leave civilisation as we know it behind and abandon ourselves to the power of the great outdoors. Our ‘Wellbeing Way’ is more than just a break away. It draws you into something deeper in the universe, in you!

    “Make of yourself a light,”
    said the Buddha,
    before he died.
    I think of this every morning
    as the east begins
    to tear off its many clouds
    of darkness, to send up the first
    signal — a white fan
    streaked with pink and violet,
    even green…
    Even before the sun itself
    hangs, disattached, in the blue air,
    I am touched everywhere
    by its ocean of yellow waves.
    No doubt he thought of everything
    that had happened in his difficult life.
    And then I feel the sun itself
    as it blazes over the hills,
    like a million flowers on fire —
    clearly I’m not needed,
    yet I feel myself turning
    into something of inexplicable value…

    (Mary Oliver)

    Phil and Elaine are excited to be teaming up with Sinead Gaynor and Deirdre Lawlor to roll out ‘The wellbeing way – Waterford’ this autumn along with our ‘Celtic Camino in the steps of St. Declan’. Our autumn schedule is almost fully booked and our followers will be delighted to know that our bookings for 2022 are already shaping up well. We’ve some lovely announcements to come. Watch this space! There are places available for our 3 Day Wellbeing Way from Tuesday September 21st with Faithlegg House Hotel as our base. For more details and pricing, you can email us directly at info@waterfordcamino.com

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    The long walk home

    If one has courage, nothing can dim the light which shines within… Since a price will be exacted from us for everything we do or leave undone, we should pluck up the courage to win, to win back our finer and kinder and healthier selves. There is no failure as long as you learn from your experience, continue to work, and continue to press on for success.

    (Maya Angelou)

    I like nothing more than to go for a gentle jog along a coastal path near where I live in Tramore. It helps clear the head and sets me up for the day ahead. One particular run I do leads me on a loop around the back strand, down the beach and back to the prom for a well-earned cool down in the sea. Just me and the universe, as the early morning sun casts its crimson glow across the bay. It’s as liberating as it gets! Once or twice old niggles surface on the soft sand and I turn the bend four miles out to face the long walk home. The elements often conspire to make it that bit tougher; rain, hailstones, a strong breeze coming right at you… you’ve got to dig deep. You’ve no choice!

    The long walk home is your defining hour. It can make you or break you. I sometimes lose it for a moment, release a few choice words into the heavens and question myself for being out there in the first place. Just as well there’s no one around. It’s the frustration you feel more than the pain. Running to standstill – this was never in the plan. The way ahead seems blurred and in the haze I struggle. I find it good just to slow my cadence right down, stop by the water’s edge, breathe, listen. The ebb and flow reminds me that this too will pass. Waves roll into shore with unwavering ease to calm the stirrings of the restless mind. The universe always speaks when you need it most. Stillness draws you back to the source from where you find the strength to go again. You know you’re not alone. Your way back starts with one single step.

    We cannot change the cards we’re dealt in life but we can choose how we play them. It is not how we start; it’s how we adapt when things don’t go to plan. Painful episodes leave a scar that only those closest will ever see. Hidden wounds become part of who you are. Somehow, you must find that spark even in the darkest of places. You cannot give up. I remember at one time in my life when things were particularly scary, staring out the window in search of a sign to help me move beyond my deepest fears. I could see a small bird on a ledge not too far from my humble abode surveying its surrounds before it took flight. There we were, before the world was yet to waken, just me and this bird.

    I began to visualise the bird leaving the sanctuary of its lofty perch, its fragile wings yielding to the vagaries of the wind as it soared through the skies. At that moment, it felt so real. A once captive creature was free again to re-claim its place in the cosmos. The reverie lingered and lulled me back to sleep just for a while. When I awoke, the bird was still there. It had stayed exactly where it was. I needed to get closer. As if aware of my curiosity from afar, the bird nodded gracefully before descending at pace into the darkened space below. Minutes later, it reappeared, and rose steadily to embrace the freedom beyond the narrowed walls it had left behind. Light seeped through shaded skies as dawn broke. I too would rise.

    A small, delicate creature had unearthed something in me I never knew existed. Its mystery lingered and eased the simmering pain of a broken man. Unspoken, unannounced… a simple truth had set me free. The peace we seek along the way doesn’t come from superiority and might. It flows from the deepest, most vulnerable part of our being, that unmistakable core within that makes us unique. A meaningful life does not come from being rich, being popular, being highly educated, being perfect. It comes from staying true to you especially when you’re tested most and staying humble to the end. Listen to your gut, your inner compass. It always points you where you need to be. Your deepest pain can reveal your higher purpose. Every fall is the beginning of your flight.

    Gravitate to the light and the shadows will soon pass behind. Good people are priceless. You know the type. Those who will never hide away, who lift you up when you fall, who remind you of the song you’ve still got to sing. Others can be quick to ridicule and to judge. They have no idea of the price you have paid to be where you are now. Make time for those who are weak and are broken along the way. Make time for them. They too have their story. Walk the path with them rather than look on from afar. Leave your imprint on the sands of time. One tiny act of kindness ripples out in quiet abandon into the universe to reveal the source that makes it all possible in the first place. God is love and those who trust in love will endure to the last.

    Musical airs drift into the evening skies in mystical homage to what has gone before. Chords once lost have now been found as I learn to laugh and smile all over again. Life feels good. This time everything does not have to rhyme. There is beauty in the flawed note beyond the reach of those who cannot hear. Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore. A voice whispers from afar. You are a child of the universe. No less than the seas and the stars you have a right to be here. You have come this far. Now make your way home!

    Starting today, learn more, laugh more and do what you truly love to do. Do not be denied your destiny. For what lies behind you and what lies in front of you matters little when compared to what lies in you.

    (Robin Sharma)

    Phil and Elaine are excited to be teaming up with Sinead Gaynor and Deirdre Lawlor of ‘ReNew You Retreats’ to roll out ‘The wellbeing way along the Waterford coastline’ from this autumn and to be rolling out our ‘St Declan’s Camino’ from August this year. September is already fully booked. You assemble the group, leave the rest to us. Check out www.waterfordcamino.com or email us directly at info@waterfordcamino.com

  • Posted on
    • Posted in Phils Blog |

    The day time stood still

    Matara, Sri Lanka, December 26th, 2004, 9am.

    Charles Hewawasam looked out through the front door of the church. One large wave was rising just beyond the shoreline and moving swiftly towards the island. The people had their backs to the onslaught oblivious to what was coming their way. In all his years looking out on the Indian Ocean, this Sri Lankan priest had never seen anything like it. The sound was deafening as roaring torrents crashed in around them. Terror gripped his flock as they gasped in disbelief. They rushed out of pews with arms flailing, voices screaming, hands grabbing children, legs stumbling, tripping… torrents gushing through the double doors, bodies flung against pews and pillars.

    Charles directed the people to take the steps to the balcony beyond the sacristy to the rear of the church. The higher level offered their best hope of survival. Some followed; others fled the building, fearing for their lives, hoping to outrun the relentless surge. Men in the 80s, children as young as four, all in a race for their lives. Of the 28 who fled, none survived! The raging sea waters churned and swallowed everything in their path. A car ploughed through the double door and pinballed against the stone pillars inside. Those who stayed behind and made it to the balcony… they were the lucky ones!

    Charles knew there was more to be done. Piercing screams alerted him to people in trouble outside. He waded through the waters trying desperately to reach as many as he could. The current was strong. One by one, he carried them inside. Frenzied hands and petrified faces struggled to withstand the pull as they drifted downstream. There, amid the chaos, he noticed his mother. He could see her face as the waters swirled with ominous intent. Time was not on his side. He waded through the torrent once more and managed to catch her hand. He pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her. The receding tide dragged them both towards the sea. They clung to each other and to a lamp post close by. It saved them…

    The Peace Choir visited Matara 2 years later and sang for the same people who were in the church that morning. Charles welcomed us with open arms. Our harmonies merged with the hushed tones of the waves as they rolled gently into shore. Pain and courage oozed through the smiles on faces we had never seen before. We listened to their stories. Many recalled the aftermath of the tsunami. Christians, Buddhists, Muslims came together to bury their dead, to feed each other, just to mind their neighbour. Their tragedy was their stepping stone to a sacred space they might not otherwise have known. Their common humanity is what carried them. Their solidarity for one another found expression in kindness. Nothing else mattered!

    Something about my time in Sri Lanka has stayed with me ever since. The people have a spirit that no wave could reach. There was a bravery in how they picked up the pieces and started all over again. Their grace is of a kind that invites you in. When you give a gift to a child, it is not opened for days. The gesture alone is what pleases. The simplest of things take on a whole new meaning; a cricket match by the shoreline, a walk along a sandy beach as the sun sets, a visit to a Buddhist shrine that is precious to them, laughter and song… you being with them has a value beyond rupees. When the child speaks, it pays to listen:

    The day was clear
    The sun shone bright
    Upon my island home
    When all at once wailing echoed from her shores.
    And it came whirling, swirling, churning and sweeping
    A monstrous twenty-foot wave
    With a booming voice and mighty hurt
    Destroying everything in its way.
    Father and mother grieving
    For their loving children lost.
    Little children searching everywhere,
    Searching for! their parents lost.
    The waves shattered Sri Lanka
    Yet humanity it could not break.
    Compassion, love and kindness reached out to all,
    And gave hope in every way.
    Oh Tsunami you ! hit us
    Expecting us to fall.
    But we will rise stronger,
    Much better than before.

    (Excerpts from ‘Tsunami you hit my island home’ by Ivan Corea, Sri Lanka)

    How we emerge from our darkest hour defines us as people. Life is not always an easy free-wheel downhill. Tough days bring us to the edge. We unearth what we need to carry us the rest of the way. Time of tragedy can become a time of hope. The Chinese have a term to capture this. The ‘Kintsugi’, or that quake out at sea, can bring pain and possibility in equal measure. The broken pieces from the tremors assume their past through the trauma, and, land on safe ground paradoxically more resilient and more beautiful than before the shock. We grow through our hard times. As we wade through the darkness, we discover the true strength of the brilliant light within that can never, ever, be dimmed.

    Time has stood still for us all over the past year. We’ve felt it in ways we could never have prepared ourselves for. Maybe as we re-emerge from the other side of this pandemic, it is not a time to look back and try to have everything we once had. We all have a choice to make here; to retreat or to advance, to fall into old habits or to allow our deepest instinct guide us the rest of the way. You have to trust your gut. It aligns your life with where you need to be. Invest your energies wisely. It pays to to have a purpose that is yours and yours alone. Seize it lest it pass you by!

    You would rather find purpose than a job or career… purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history. Your very existence is wrapped up in the things you are here to fulfill. Whatever path you choose, remember the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose.

    (Chadwick Bosman [1976-2020], Actor, Howard University Address to the class of 2018)

    This piece is dedicated to Agnes and all our friends in Weligama, Sri Lanka.

    Phil and Elaine are planning for later this year to roll out their signature Camino experiences. We are taking group bookings from mid-July in the hope that the vaccines will have worked their magic by then. You assemble the group, leave the rest to us. September is fully booked. Check out our range of Camino offerings on www.waterfordcamino.com and if you have any specific inquiries email Phil and Elaine directly at info@waterfordcamino.com