Last evening was the end of a clear, blue-sky day. Inside McGinley’s Pub, the Irish session was filling the atmosphere with the spirit of Ireland. It has been a year since we spent our month in the Cushendall Tower and I have been sharing with my family how much I miss Cushendall and long to return.

To my great good fortune, who should be in the pub but an Irish couple Anda had met and befriended at Snow City. Our conversation warmed my heart so that I felt like I was back in Ireland!

I was trying to tell these folks about how special the Irish people are: Irish people really listen.

I am grateful for the reminder that Ireland is still there and that what was awakened in my heart will not go away. I need to write about “genuine” conversation, and how it allows me to enter the void with the eyes open.

For now I will say that there is a “meeting place” in genuine conversation, a place mutually occupied. Sometimes it is won by hard work (we Americans are so caught up in our own thoughts and want to let everyone know what WE think, so we have to work hard at finding the meeting place). The delight is that the Irish seem to already be there and when you meet them, they invite you in. What a gift to the world!