Even a Wee Bit o’ Irish will Help Your Heart
With a smidgeon o’ Irish in me blood, my brown
eyes turn green around this time of year, and I get a weird lilt in my voice.
It’s even more pronounced this year, since 2018 is Officially the Year of the Irish Language. So I’m turning this week’s word of wonder into an old Irish phrase,
for your Celtic learning pleasure.
Tá croí éadrom i bhfad níos faide: A light heart lives longest.*
[imTranslator.net; try as I did, could not locate an English pronunciation for us to practice. WW #155]
[imTranslator.net; try as I did, could not locate an English pronunciation for us to practice. WW #155]
A simple but oh-so-true adage, don’t you
think? Not always an easy task, for sure, but even on the darkest days (I’ve
had more than I’d care to count), it always seems easier to bear, if I give
myself an “attitude adjustment,” to lighten my heart.
Of course, my
mood switch often involves Happy Hour. If your day goes awry early, though,
forcibly break your mental state with music, a chat with a friend, writing creatively or journally (I know, I just made that up), pour your mind into a project, or other
pleasant diversion. It feels so much better to smile than to frown.
If we don’t live longer because of it, at
least we’ll live happier.
“Listen to our tunes, observe a Celtic scroll:
we always decorate our essence.”
I have just the sprightly attitude adjustment
for you to lighten your mood with a bit o’ Irish wit! John F. Harnish is an Irish/Druid with a winsome sense of humor and a wicked way
with words. His creative, fun tales of St. Patrick and the famous snakes, in Paddy’s Request, will tickle your funny bone and lift the
corners of your mouth with inane glee.
We all now know that St. Patrick is not the true reason there are no snakes in Ireland. However, John weaves two short stories into
almost-plausible prose, if you believe in fairy tales.
Enjoy Paddy’s Request for free, in Kindle
Select, or on your favorite tablet for a pittance of $1.23. As one reviewer
delighted in posting, “You won't go broke
buying it, but you may split your sides reading it. I have been a collector of
myths, tales, legends, and stories for almost 75 years. I've seen many of them
in one form or another times over, but these are fresh for me. Read with
delight what Paddy used instead of a pipe [a la piper] to lead the slithering
thingies from Erin. Then read how the Leprechauns were involved in another
explanation of how Paddy ridded Ireland of snakes. If neither of these satisfy
you, write your own tale. It will likely be as true as these two.”
Word Challenge: Tá croí éadrom i bhfad níos faide. A light heart lives longest. If not in deed, at least in the
memories of those we leave behind. Make more fond memories for your loved ones,
as you fit Tá croí éadrom i bhfad níos
faide into your week of Irish writings.
* While researching
translators and Irish sayings, I was reminded that as in English, there are
often different ways to say the same thing in Irish (and with diverse dialects).
Originally, I culled Irish-Sayings.com to find the Wordplay Wednesday phrase. There, it was presented in Irish as: Maireann croí éadrom i bhfad. However, I found more than one translator that
defined that Irish phrase as “A light heart survives longest.” Certainly
in definition, basically the same, but not how their English phrase read. Just
a little quirk to add to your week’s word learning!
Write first for
yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle)
LinDee
Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock &
Roll. She has published two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past series, available on
Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon, … The Psychedelic Seventies!
E-N-D
