Several years ago, I wrote a book of essays, A Smidgen of Irish Luck, about my travel to Ireland simply because I found extraordinary where there is ordinary, engaged in conversations in the oddest places and adjusted to the inevitable raindrops like a local.

You’re reading this article while living in a sadly partisan world, one where the brand of shoes one buys, or the food chain one eats at, or entertainment choices, are seen as indicative of one’s place in a world divided between “us” and “them.” To restore the wholeness of Western civilization in our time we need more examples of “both-and” thinking, more myths that can look across cultural borders and say, “we are them.” We need tales that show us how to be passionate supporters of justice while at the same time viewing with fondness those with whom we differ. Brigid is such a figure, she is a gateway between religious traditions, between traditional gendered roles, between socio-economic divides, between the human-and-animal realm, and between mundane reality and the realms of imagination.

I’d like to share with you a bit of my passion for and experiences in Donegal County, Ireland.

Donegal County, not to be confused with Donegal Town, is in the upper left region of Ireland. It’s a remote, mountainous place with relatively few inhabitants compared to the rest of the country. To me, Donegal has always been a mystical word, whispered across the winds of my mind, not spoken out loud as if verbalizing the word would break some magical spell.

Guest Post by Elaine Ní Chiardha

All native spiritualities, including Celtic and pre-Celtic Irish traditions, teach the interconnection between all beings - between humans and the beings of nature, and indeed the spirit world. To return to and remember this awareness, which is innate to us all, is to heal. To heal ourselves, our relationship to one another and to the world. It is true, the old adage - nature is the greatest healer.

Have you ever had an overwhelming feeling of familiarity while being in a place or situation, but you know is seems impossible that you were there in this lifetime?  Did visiting a particular historical place, watching a movie or reenactments of historical events and battles trigger a feeling or memory? Maybe you are drawn to a particular era of time while studying history and getting an “A” on the topics of Ancient Egypt.