Making Peace with the Rain

In this episode I try and articulate a feeling of being lied to by the world, by society, by my own mind and belief systems and what I have tried to do to disentangle myself from it all and reclaim some agency. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

In this episode I explore how we frame our relationship with depression these days, as well as offer a few insights from my own experience.*A reminder to all Spotify listeners that episodes will soon no longer be available on Spotify*Please subscribe to Making Peace with the Rain on Substack for free to receive episodes directly into your inbox. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed and messaged. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the latest episode. Much love to you all. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

*A quick note, especially to those of you who listen on Spotify: Please follow/subscribe to the Substack page Making Peace With The Rain . No subscription charge or anything, just the podcast will no longer be hosted on Spotify for reasons explained during the podcast.*https://substack.com/@makingpeacewiththerain?utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-pageIn this return after a long break, I talk about moving away from the West Coast of Ireland and how I’m reorienting myself in that new landscape. I try to express some of my thoughts with the help of Eva Gore Booth and her poem “The Mystic”.Please subscribe on Substack to encourage dialogue and conversation through engagement. It would mean a lot. Don’t worry about the pledge thing. The stuff will always be free. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

Here is some extra content from my conversation with Edmund in Episode 3 that you haven't heard yet.In these two clips we chat firstly about how he navigates the demands of modern life and his love of nature, and in the second clip Edmund wonders how we might reach out to people who don't have the same love of nature that forms such a core part of his own life. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

This spell of good weather has me out of kilter. This is not the Ireland that I remember. In this episode I explore how we often pursue the future at the expense of the present and how we might miss the gifts of our immediate environment as a result. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

In this episode I talk to Ellie, a psychotherapist who would describe her work as sitting on the boundary between traditional therapy and spirituality. Our conversation led us to explore the differences between religion and spirituality and how living from the heart can be both liberating and challenging.I met Ellie a number of years ago on a visit to the Krishnamurti Centre in Brockwood Park, UK and we also chat a little bit about our experience there. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

In this conversation I chat with Connor, a dear friend from Australia. Connor is a double bass player and our conversation led us to explore his own journey with becoming comfortable with the unknowns of improvised music. The conversation offers some insights for our every day lives about moving with intention while not being attached to the outcome. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

In this episode I discuss my own struggles, both with my own sense of purpose and with my health. I delve into how this has affected where I place value in the "professional/working" world, with money and where I feel it is necessary to channel our time and energy in order to feel whole.It is an episode about where we place our sense of self-worth and questions how much responsibility we have to change things. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

In this episode I chat to my friend Dairíne. We touched on home in the context of feeling free to be yourself and the place that she might find home in Ireland if she was to return. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

This week I'm interrupting the usual format to bring you a part of the conversation I had with Arantza that didn't make it into the final episode. We reflected on "love" and its relationship to our sense of home. Arantza then went on to describe the place she feels most at home in nature.To listen to the full conversation follow the link below to Ep5. A Conversation with Arantza: The Language of Home.https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tvVKkLjwuk04XWBCxxvpL?si=ZhaO5Vf5SxiX9d1b2hzXRw This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

In this episode I explore the question "Who are you?" and the use of the phrase "Where are you from?". I look at the assumptions we might make based on the appearance of others, through my own experience as a non-quintessentially Irish looking person and how identity is shaped by our experience of home. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

Alongside me on my journey home has been a supportive presence throughout this new phase. In this second conversation episode, I speak to my partner Arantza. She describes her experience of home and of Ireland. We discuss how language can shape our sense of home and the importance of sustaining languages that are in decline. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

In this episode I explore the difference between rural and city life in terms of noise and how the sounds of the present moment can bring us into deeper connection with ourselves and our environment, regardless of the location. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

In this, the first conversation episode of my journey through rediscovering home, I chat with my childhood friend Edmund. We reminisce on the parts of us rooted in the landscape of our past, what nature might be able to teach us and explore our mutual appreciation for Irish philosopher and storyteller, John Moriarty. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

Recorded on the West Coast of Ireland in February 2025. Withmy mind trying to catch up with my body after returning to Ireland, in this episode I try to make sense of why I’m on this journey. I reflect on Irish Trad music and wildlife, Irishness and what’s it’s like to return to Ireland with the backdrop of the slightly unfamiliar landscape of the West Coast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com

Recorded in Brisbane, Australia in September 2024 before returning to Ireland.In this episode I invite you to join me at the beginning of my journey to rediscover my homeland, Irishness, myself in the context of familiar landscape and how we might look to the ground under our feet for deeper understanding, meaning and connection. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit makingpeacewiththerain.substack.com