Ireland, Day ??: Aran Islands

Tomorrow is our last full day in Ireland. On Sunday, we get up early, head to the airport, and are back in AR hopefully by 8:30 Sunday night.

We spent today on an excursion to one of the Aran islands, three rugged and isolated islands to the West of Ireland. The trip requires a ferry ride of one hour and 15 minutes to get to the island we were headed for. Combined with a delay in the harbor on the way over there, it took about 2.5 hours to get to our destination, not including the 45 minute drive just to get to the ferry. Then another 1.5 hours on the ferry back to the mainland in the afternoon, and a second 45 minute drive. That's quite a bit of travel time.

I'm not sure why, but this sort of thing doesn't bother me any more. At one point in my life, I would have been irritated about not being able to move immediately, such as when we were delayed in the harbor for about an hour. I would've been frustrated with something that was completely out of my control, and, in all actuality, had very little impact on my life. I'm beginning to think that there is something to being able to just sit and enjoy those times when you literally have no other option than to relax and enjoy the ride.

Granted, I had my ipod with me, so I totally tuned in to some good music, which was awesome. Boredom isn't usually an issue, nor is impatience unless I, personally, have some important reason to be somewhere. Normally, I'm not that important. And I don't really count sightseeing as all that important. I'm lucky to be able to do it, sure. But 1 hour less on a fairly small island isn't going to kill my day.

The way I see it? I may never again ride on a ferry in the North Atlantic off the coast of Ireland. Why the hell would I be impatient? I listened to accents, listened to my music, thought about the trip, and enjoyed just being for a few hours. That is a total and complete luxury. Why on earth would I not just enjoy it. I'll be back to reality soon enough, where I'm once again in charge. I'll miss the day where the only thing on my agenda was to sit and enjoy the ride.

I think I'm going zen in my advancing age. It's a lot less stress than being uptight. Retirement is a good thing, it's too bad I'll be looking for a job soon enough. Ah well, time for that in a few months. For now, I'll enjoy a few more days of accents and irish whiskey. Hm. Maybe there's a connection between the whiskey and the zen...will have to do some more research.