The Veil is thinner...

Fourteen years ago I sat in the crypt of Iona Abbey and was overcome with the  realisation that my life was going to change, irrevocably. I had no idea how, or in what manner, only that immense change was coming.


Later that evening, I met Judy at a table in the Argyll Hotel restaurant, having been invited there by her fellow guest, Mary. We never looked back.




And our journey together, ever since, has been one of trust; trusting the unknown against all odds. I believe the special qualities of the island were gifted to us to allow two strangers who had never met to come together and to find a shared companionship half way through our lives in a manner that, quite literally, tested the ether.
Truly, the veil is thinner there, and, to quote Blaise Pascal:


"In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't."



Nicholas

The rocks that make up parts of Iona are 2900 million years old, it is called Lewisian Gneiss, it is found here on Iona, as well as on Lewis and Harris, islands in the Outer Hebrides. 2900 million years old…I cannot comprehend.

Iona is only 3 miles long and 1 mile wide. Here, in her soil, are buried kings of Scotland, MacBeth and MacDuff numbering among them. Viking and Scandinavian kings are also buried here. In life, as well as in death, people from all walks of life, people from around the world, find their way to her shores to rest.

We join in the ranks of the thousands of pilgrims who continue to make their way each year to this jewel in the Atlantic when we depart for the far north in the wee hours tomorrow morning. First we board a plane, then a train, then a ferryboat, a bus, and finally the short ferry ride from Mull to Iona will complete our pilgrimage. It will take us just over 12 hours from door to door. When I first travelled to Iona, it took me over 36.

There is no speedy way to make this journey, no last-minute impulse arrives one on Iona’s shores. It is too remote, at least from New York City or the Southeast of England, or almost anywhere else on earth, to make it a casual destination. Perhaps this is one of her greatest gifts, to remind me, and all who feel beckoned to her rugged beauty, that growth and healing cannot be rushed.

The path to wholeness and a deepening understanding of Self takes time, effort and commitment. There is no instant solution when life presents extraordinary challenges and questions. Resting on her shores, walking on stones created billions of years ago, brings the deep peace the Celtic church spoke of, the deep peace available across centuries and miles and generations:

I arise today through the strength of heaven;

Light of sun,

Radiance of moon,
Splendour of fire,

Speed of lighting,

Swiftness of wind,

Depth of sea,

Stability of earth,

Firmness of rock.

The Deer’s Cry

(Ancient Celtic prayer)

Judy