"The three chief endeavors of a bard: to learn and collect knowledge; to teach; to make peace and put an end to all injury.
To act contrary to these things is not usual or fitting to a bard."
___ ancient British triad
How can these bardic tasks become part of our own spiritual path today? How can they be integrated into our culture? Each society needs knowledge that informs and is appropriate for its members: it does not want to hear about bygone lore. This means that every would-be bard should indeed research to the very roots of knowledge the thing she wishes to convey, but she must also seek out the relevance and practical wisdom of that topic.
The ancient bards could inspire, encourage, enchant their listeners.
The modern bard must learn the old art of oral performance rather than of written exposition. These skills may be learned from our spiritual allies, who are the true teachers of the bardic knowledge, as well as from situations in which the solution to difficulty is imparted by spontaneous, synaptic inspiration: where knowledge, problem, and answer line up.
This leads to the making of peace and the cessation of injury - skills that we need very badly in our own time. The bardic performance can bring the end to hostility, especially if music is part of the picture. In the presence of music, all people are brought into harmony and understanding as its universal language speaks to the soul. We may bring an end to injury and offense through the offices of a modern bard in times not so far distant from our own.
"Meditate upon the bardic teachers of your ancestry. Make a soul-flight to one of their schools and ask to meed with a bard who will teach you the skills necessary for bringing peace to our world."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
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