I'd envisioned something akin to a Catholic Priest kissing the Bible after the Gospel reading during Mass ... sacred, righteous, pure and holy.
Instead I'm hanging upside down off the top of a several hundred year old castle with a man almost as old holding my legs so I won't fall 350 feet below.
That's how you kiss it.
This was after making the pilgrimage up the castle stairs which are long, hard, cold, damp and increasingly narrow the higher I go.
Come to think about it ... kissing the Blarney Stone IS A LOT is a lot like religion.
Both require acts of faith.
The Blarney Stone may have been brought to Ireland by the Prophet Jeremiah who left it to bless the generations or ... it could be made up to become the 9 Euro ($14/adult) tourist destination it is today.
Who knows?
Who cares?
Unless it's you ... and where you choose to put your faith.
Kissing the Blarney Stone (for a small price) is supposed to give you the gift of gab ... meaning great eloquence, the gift of flattery or ... you're suddenly masterful at bullshitting.
I choose to believe it because Blarney Castle is a magical place to visit, the walk up the castle stairs requires major investment on my part, an old man being the only thing preventing me from falling to my death requires faith and I look forward to the rewards I'll receive for believing.
Though it really is the same with religion.
I believe in God and the Bible, Church or Synagogue are magical places requiring investment, words spoken by the person in the pulpit are taken at face value, if I do the right things I'm not supposed to go to Hell and afterwards I'll gain rewards that are Heavenly.
I think it's better to believe than not making my way through life.
It's the ultimate act of faith.
All of those times when God is quiet and doesn't deliver on the things we beg for; when we unexpectedly inflicted with cancer or other illness; friends disappear or let us down when they're needed most; jobs are lost and our securities become threadbare and fragile; the church lets us down ... any of these things can cause us to lose faith.
Each can make us cynical and not longer believe in goodness, magic, miracles, deliverance and the conviction that someone's always got our back even when no one's behind us.
So I kiss the Blarney Stone as a testimony to the things I believe.
Regardless of the fact that I already have the gift of gab, am pretty eloquent, make people feel better and am quite the bullshitter.
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Today is also Sarah's birthday and we're celebrating the incredible gift of her life in Ireland. She kissed the Blarney Stone too but I still believe it when she says she loves me. Happy Birthday y love!
