At the back of our brains, so to speak, there was a forgotten blaze or burst of astonishment at our own existence. The object of the artistic and spiritual life was to dig for this submerged sunrise of wonder.
CHESTERTON, The Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton (2006, p. 99)
â¦
Every great dream begins with a dreamer.
KELLY, Hallelujah: Memoirs of a singing priest (2019, p. 272)
âµ
In the timeless novel, The Razorâs Edge, by W. Sommerset Maugham (1943), the main character Larry, sets off on a pilgrimage around the world, in search of attaining wisdom and freedom in life. Atop a forested mountain in India, Larry experiences the mystery of a sunrise and explains:
I had a strange feeling of suspense. So gradually that I was hardly aware of it. Light began to filter through the darkness, slowly, like a mysterious figure slinking between the trees. I felt my heart beating as though at the approach of danger. The sun rose. I donât know the words to paint a picture; I canât tell you, so to make you see it, how grand the sight was that was displayed before me as the day broke in its splendor. Those mountains with their deep jungle, the mist still entangled in the treetops, and the bottomless lake far below me. The sun caught the lake through a cleft in the heights and it shone like burnished steel. I was ravished with the beauty of the world. Iâd never known such exaltation and such a transcendent joy. I had a strange sensation, a tingling that arose in my feet and traveled up to my head, and I felt as though I were suddenly released from my body and as pure spirit partook of a loveliness I had never conceived. I had a sense that a knowledge more than human
(Maugham, 1943, p. 275)possessed me, so that everything that had been confused was clear and everything that had perplexed me was explained. I was so happy that it was pain and I struggled to release myself from it, for I fear that if it lasted a moment longer I should die, and yet it was such rapture that I was ready to die rather than forego it.
Larry sensed that âfor a moment [he was] one with the Absolute orâ¦it was an inrush from the subconscious of an affinity with the universal spirit which is latent in all of usâ (Maugham, 1943, p. 276). Like Larry, we too can venture to the razorâs edge to realize illumination that is greater than this world we live in. Throughout our lives we have journeyed inward and outward, seeking possibility as creatives. We know in our hearts and minds that our human capacity for good and hope for others is far greater than we realize. We never settled on status-quo and searched the unknown to create a new vision for and with the children and adults we encountered. We have discovered through the process of creating with others that the aesthetic awakens hope. When creating an aesthetic community project that lifts the heart and mind, both a physical and spiritual transfiguration takes place, enflaming our spirits with unending possibilities.
When creating the Childrenâs Hallelujah documentary (see Chapter 1) during the pandemic quarantine (2020) or enacting the Fable of Aran Island: The Epic Battle of Honey and Rat (see Chapter 6), we continued to be deeply aware and hopeful of the critical importance of our vision to uplift childrenâs lives by awakening the moral imagination.
In Chapters 2, 3, and 4 we travel to the Aran Islands of Inis OÃrr, Inis Meáin, and Inis Mór to research the Celtic imagination and the Aran Islandsâ way of life to deepen our aesthetic paradigm. As we discovered many moments of joy, we also struggled with the challenge of facing our fears. We can now say that these experiences have touched our soul and increased our faith in the human spirit. We know without a doubt that good and evil sit side-by-side in all moments of our lives, yet with wisdom and mindful steps we are stronger in discerning carefully each choice and step we take.
Looking back on another poignant experience that influenced key themes in this book, one memory surfaced. During the summer of 2005, Dr. Clark found herself sitting in the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford. She was getting ready to present her research on the childâs moral imagination at the Oxford Round Table conference. Instead of thinking of her presentation she was swept away, breathing in the ethos of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien; who met quite frequently in this pub for a pint to share and discuss their writing. She could only imagine how this experience, being in this same space, this wellspring in
C.S. Lewisâ (1950) creation, The Chronicles of Narnia and J.R. Tolkienâs (1955/1965, 1954/1965, 1955/1994) mystifying work, Lord of the Rings resonate and inspire our work, for these authors captured the infinite order of good and evil in this world. These famous works of literature are profound examples of the emotional and moral imagination at work in our lives.
Tolkien believed, âIn writing stories man is not a creator but a sub-creator who may hope to reflect something of the eternal light of God.â Tolkien composed the following poem for Lewis after a talk they had the previous evening (as cited by Carpenter, 1979, p. 63).
Like Tolkien, while climbing Croagh Patrick, the holy mountain, we knew the divine imagination was by our side for a greater good. During this pilgrimage to the summit, a two-thousand-five-hundred-foot ascent, a dangerous path with hazards at every step, we were overcome by an urgent feeling to pause and pray for our ancestorsâ courage; for their sacrifices and struggles led them to the razorâs edge.
With every step, we breathed in the immensity of earthâs landscape and sky surrounding us. Akin to Tolkien, we felt in our hearts a closeness to God and his creation. In Chapter 5, we will present in more detail this spiritual pilgrimage to pray for children. We could not have successfully reached the summit if it wasnât for our faith in our Creator and the larger purpose of our lives. That climb affirmed our dedication to inspire children and adults to realize their purpose in life. The characters, Frodo and Samwise in Tolkienâs Lord of the Rings, are challenged by the difficulty when on their journey for good in the world.
(Tolkien, 1955/1994, pp. 919â920)
The Mountain crept up ever nearer, until, if they lifted their heavy heads, it filled all their sight, looming vast before them: a huge mass of ash and slag and burned stoneâ¦âCome, Mr. Frodo!â he [Sam] cried. âI canât carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and heâll go.ââ¦Sam staggered to his feet; and then to his amazement he felt the burden light. He had feared that he would have barely strength to lift his master alone, and beyond that he had expected to share in the dreadful dragging weight of the accursed Ring. But it was not soâ¦He looked back, and then he looked up; and he was amazed to see how far his last effort had brought him. The Mountain standing ominous and alone had looked taller than it was.
As you journey with us to the islands of the emotional and moral imagination, you may also find that your memories and life experiences are awakened. It is at these private moments when memories appear, both good and bad, that perhaps you were challenged like Frodo and Sam, to give up on your climb to the summit. Throughout each chapter, you will find us casting off into the unknown in order to discover that there is so much more here beside us in the âinvisibleâ that at first one doesnât see, but inherently challenges us to grow on this lifeâs journey. When the shadows appear, look for the light, as Tolkien describes, stating, âFor like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thingâ (Tolkien, 1955/1994, p. 901).
Like Tolkienâs reference to the shadows appearing and warning to look to the light, Moriarty introduces two ancient races, the Formorians and the Túatha Dé Dannan; one race embracing the shadows and one race embracing the Divine Light. Moriarty describes these opposing peopleâs forces, existing at the same time in ancient Ireland, stating, âTwo peoples are fighting for the soul of the country, one people seeking to turn it into a human convenience, the other finding fulfilment in being of one mind with the wind and the rainâ (Moriarty, 2019, p. 8).
Moriarty, in his genius, explores the beauty of going âinlandâ towards the light of your being and the holiness of that light that may be embraced into oneâs being and way of existing in the world. Moriarty explains the light and the dark forces that we carry as a result of thousands of years of story and reminds us, awakens us, to ways in which the worldâs standards can catch us off guard and dull us into a sense of sleepwalking and senselessness, unaware of what is truly around us. He explains how the Túatha Dé Dannan, did not remember to care for what was essential in their lives, which led to their undoing. Moriarty
The Túatha Dé Dannan took their eye off what is essential, and so it was that the Formorians were able to steal their music, their very soul that is, that soul being the Orphic note that harmonized them to all things.
(Moriarty, 2019, p. 8)
Moriarty enters into the depths of the universe in all its mystery, revealing the invisible music of the Orphic note.
Moriarty and so many other inspirational guides will travel with us as we weave in and around the islands of the emotional and moral imagination. When one faces the juxtaposition between the shadows and the light (either consciously or unconsciously), choices arise with each wave that comes to your life shore. Choices are critical, whether to except the truth of the divine imagination versus the manufactured, manipulative, plastic standards of the world. The worldâs standards lie waiting to seduce your soul, numbing truth via the pleasure center of comfort, yet ironically, increase anxiety and depression as the life light of the Divine slowly fades away. This is happening every day, moment to moment, while people are sleepwalking and giving away the âmusicâ of their soul to a false lie of the modern world. Perhaps itâs time to discern the immensity of the imagination of the cosmos within us. We come from the stars, entering this world on a light beam.
To many people the stuff the universe is made of is something they call matter. To William Blake, nature and presumably, therefore, the universe is Imagination. To Fionn the universe is music.
(Moriarty, 2019, p. 106)
What we see in front of us and what we worry about is not what our lifeâs purpose and gifts represent (see Chapter 7). Both the ordinary and the extraordinary reveal the presence of truth. The deeper you travel to the islands of your soul, a deepening of wisdom and the mystery of our creation and life purpose is realized.
Our worldâs standards have significantly rejected and reduced the complexity of the power within oneâs emotional and moral realm. An infinite number of emotions and values are challenged each day in a myriad of ways. The way in which one chooses to handle these challenges depends on whether one is led by the doctrine of status-quo conformity or, one is led to the Divine Light. The danger of this conformity and negation of the emotional and moral realm can
We cannot deny that we are emotional beings. At the time of our creation, the divine imagination wove a tapestry of the emotional imagination upon our soul, whereby the most brilliant colors, sounds, sensory elixirs, and imagery, burst forth upon the loom, revealing endless patterns and possibilities, thus creating a soul that is unlike any other.
The emotional imagination is a formidable force in human life. Suffering, pain, hurt, and rejection, exist side by side with joy, love, empathy, and courage. These waves of emotions are unpredictable and may cause oneâs currach to tip over amidst the troubled waters of lifeâs storms. If the emotional and moral imagination has been nurtured throughout oneâs life, resilience and faith become the oars to keep moving oneâs currach forward out of danger, knowing the storm will pass and the shadows will eventually dissipate.
The imagination is directly linked to how we see the world and each other; a pathway toward an inner knowing of oneâs moral imagination. When the moral imagination comes into play, the myriad of emotions the imagination presents, are accepted, and understood to choose to be empathic, to forgive, to not give up, and to have the courage to keep going. The moral imagination is ever-present when released outward towards others, a foundational belief that we are all connected in one currach of life. How one weaves through lifeâs experience, ânot just of instinct but of insight,â ultimately reveals two choices; to travel as if earth was here for your âhuman convenienceâ and consumption, or to travel in a reverent currach of life that honors the sacred relationships between nature and humanity (Moriarty, 2019, p. 12).
This introspective journey of the emotional and moral imagination, spiritually, and symbolically moves us in our lifeâs journey from one island to another island weaving across the waters of human emotions and life choices. Moral thought and possibility deepen as one travels through an aesthetic paradigm to the islands of Love, Truth, Faith, Forgiveness, Wisdom, Acceptance, Patience, Empathy, and Courage. We cannot deny at many times in our life journey, the currach we are in, feels fragile and exposed; yet, if we stay on course, steering toward the Divine Light, even when the light is dim or invisible, we awaken to the âastonishment at our own existenceâ (Maugham, 1943, p. 275). The moral imagination comes from the soul, from a deep knowing that our Creator loves us and imbued us with the sacred seeds of creative and spiritual potential. Our challenge, while on this Earth, is to revere the gift of life we were given and make the âobject of [our] artistic and spiritual life [to search] for this submerged sunrise of wonderâ that is within us all (Chesterton, 2006, p. 99).
Chesterton (2006) is right, on the Aran Islands we discovered a âsubmerged sunrise of wonder,â illuminating a reverence for life, hope, and faith. As pilgrims on this earth, we will face sacrifices, yet remain forever grateful for the many gifts and blessings we have received (see Figure 3). We continue to find the inspiration to help others to discover their path; a life-walk towards holiness (see Chapter 7).
Mysteries begin unfolding on Aran Islands
Photograph: A.L.A.S. Art, 2016
