Photo was taken at Carrick-a-Rede, Co.Antrim, (N.Irl)
Any trip to Co.Antrim has to include a visit to Carrick-a-Rede and the chance to cross over a rope bridge with stunning views. Traditionally fishermen erected the bridge to Carrick-a-Rede island over a 23m-deep and 20m-wide chasm to check their salmon nets. Today visitors are drawn here simply to take the rope bridge challenge!
The rope bridge originally consisted of a single rope hand rail which has been replaced by a two hand railed bridge by the National Trust. Once you reach Carrick Island, the reward is seeing the diverse birdlife and an uninterrupted view across to Rathlin Island and Scotland. There is only one way off the island which means you have to come back across the swinging bridge!
Thought on Friday – February – 17/02/2017
Thought For The Week (marking Valentine’s Day)
“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create.” ~John Lennon
Some will say that Valentine’s Day is a load of hype and completely built up into something way too big. Despite the commercial side of the day, it is good to set aside at least one day to genuinely show someone we love and care. If you take away all the trimmings around today, you are left with that precious gift called love. Valentine’s Day is not just limited to romantic love. It’s a day that celebrates every moment of love. If we say God is love then every moment of love brings with it an energy and uniqueness that can’t be found anywhere else. It is we ourselves who do our best to limit the effects of love.
Life knocks us and hurts us from time to time and we retreat into our hiding places. But love invites us back out of our darkness and uncertainties. Love is a sacred energy and every single person needs it to survive.
Like many gifts that are given to us each day we tend to take love for granted. But St Valentine’s Day at least is one day when we realize just how lucky we are to have love in our lives. It takes a while to build up love but only a second to lose it. You can’t buy it or even sell it. It is up to us to treasure this most precious gift.
