As I prepare for our upcoming trip to Ireland for the World Irish Dance Championships, I can’t help but be inspired by the words of so many Irish writers. They have a way of saying things that make us realize there is a universal heart that beats in all of us.  And they remind us of the importance of our dreams. Some of my favourites are…

“But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams beneath your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
–William Butler Yeats, “He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven”

“Yes: I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”–Oscar Wilde, “The Critic as Artist”

“You use a glass mirror to see your face: you use works of art to see your soul.” –George Bernard Shaw, “Back to Methuselah”

“If you have the words, there’s always a chance that you’ll find the way.” –Seamus Heaney

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” –Oscar Wilde, “Lady Windermere’s Fan”

“Ever tried.  Ever failed.  No matter.  Try Again.  Fail again.  Fail better.” –Samuel Beckett, “Worstward Ho”

“The world spins.  We stumble on.  It is enough.” –Colum McCann, “Let the Great World Spin”

“Dreams belong to each of us alone, just as pain does. ” –Colm Toibin, “The Testament of Mary”

May we find the words that mean the most to us.  And dream the dreams we are meant to dream.  I can’t wait to walk the same roads travelled by these great wordsmiths as we follow our hearts on our newest adventure.