The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.
-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Long absences can signify a significant turn in a person’s life-sometimes for the better, sometimes not. It’s been quite a while since I have come to this little cyber nook of The Selkie to visit with you. I hope there are still a few of you out there reading and sharing with me…
I’ve been wanting to write for weeks- to explain where I’ve been all these months and why it’s been so quiet here. I had been looking forward to explaining what, or more accurately, who, had made this summer unlike any before. That I hadn’t been writing because I hadn’t been alone in my time or thoughts in past months. Or, simply put, I have been happily in the company of someone I had met this past winter.
I was also going to reflect on the adventure that was set to begin exactly one year ago- my extended time in Edinburgh- and that though a year has passed, my friends and memories of Scotland are never far from my mind
And so, my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of travel, and how to describe the seemingly endless stream of memorable summer days…and then…last week, the attacks on Paris.
My thoughts turned to a world turned upside down by hate and fear, and how people across the globe are reacting. It is enough to make anyone despair- to listen to the news reports here and across the world…of loss, violence, war, intolerance, denial of comfort or freedom to those who seek it, out of fear.
So what do I write about? The Selkie is meant to be a scrapbook and diary of the simple joys that I am fortunate enough to have occur in my life, shared with those who want to be a part of it. So, with the holidays fast approaching, I have decided to come back to the Selkie by simply giving thanks. And to share images of sunny skies and smiling summer memories in the hope that others will still take joy in them too…
And so, I give thanks~
To crashing waves shattering on granite rock, and salt spray
To mountain trails and gently sloping paths
To crickets singing in candlelit gardens, and loon cries echoing across tent walls and lakehouse porches
To campfires and star strewn skies
To dragonflies dancing on sunlit wings over meadow fields
To ships raising sail and morning fog to pass beneath spruce cloaked islands
To small towns, fireworks, and fairs
To sunsets over mountain summits and empty stretches of sand
To joy, to love, to hope…to life