Left Hand down a bit

Just back from over-nighting with friends from ‘Norn Irn’ who were cruising on the Clyde – this is big boat stuff not the ‘bum in the waves’ sailing which I did in my youth.  Picked up at Largs, we headed for Arran.  I slept through last night’s thunder storms but woke up when the wake from the morning Calmac ferry reached us.  We visited Holy Island today – got soaked on the way but it’s a place of great serenity when you arrive.  It felt a bit like Corrymeela for Bhuddists.  We dropped in on the Mandala Garden – which somebody described as ‘It felt as if I was weeding my soul.’  I shall never reach those spiritual heights and lawn-mowing doesn’t seem to be part of it.  I was interested too in the idea that one might achieve ‘mastery of contentment’ – when I kind of hoped it might creep up on me one day while I wasn’t looking.  As always, it is amazing that such unspoilt beauty exists so close to Glasgow.  And if you want some further spiritual exercises … part of the fascination of that kind of sailing is the extent to which it is governed by wind and tide and not by what you want to do next.  We are so used to being captain of our own ship