Inis Mór - Aran Islands

Living on Inis Mór (Aran Islands, Republic of Ireland) (2002)
© Gary Scott

Aran, like living on the moon, barren, but beautiful. Nothing there, but everything to do. Greener than envy. Life so slow, a snail could overtake. People so friendly, you could have a thorn in your finger and the whole community would want to help.

I am a "Blow-in", but seem to be accepted by some as one of their own. The idea of a paradise life is just a part of life. I am a Blow-in that has been sucked in, now waiting to see if the incessant wind will blow me out.
The way of life is different to that of the Mainland. To think about it, there is that of the World, the Mainland and then there is this way, the people's own way, the Aran way. The only link between the two are a few water skimming animals that roar to life, have a steady grumble and then die just as easily, and yet, they manage to do this twelve times a day - rise, roar and roam.

The four seasons roam just as freely across this barren land, there is no forecasting (there is one stubborn figure upstairs in the Universe, that will do the complete opposite of what has been reported), rain - shine, windy - calm... Life goes on.

What makes people so different, or rather, what makes people of the same kind so different? This question I ponder with hundreds of ideas jousting to be the answer - is there just one correct answer or are there many? I think the ultimate answer is a question in itself - what do you believe makes people of the same kind so different?

I have drifted away from my original idea, but then again, have I?

I live among a people to which electricity is a relatively new idea. Some of their largest assets are their cows. Most of their professions involve the use of their hands and the building of a structure is a community effort - that seems to have been lost on the Mainland and mainly in the concrete jungles that have sprung up and bloomed, unwantingly by some, unstoppable by others.....





This is me...... and this is my story. :)