Reflections from a trip to Canmore, AB. at the end of February 2013
The Canadian Rockies are
spectacular. My daughter has only been
speechless twice in her twenty-five years.
Once when I told her I had bought a house with a pool in the backyard.
The second time was when she saw the Rockies for the first time when she was
eight.
My first glimpse of them was through pale
gray rain clouds. My husband, pointed
out some enormous shapes through the drizzle.
I thought it was just larger clouds. The mountains of my youth were the
ancient Appalachians, which stood like regal elders rounded over with age. The outline of these was that of prideful
youth, tall and craggy reaching nearly to the clouds. My disbelief turned to wonder as we were
enveloped in their majesty. I had to
tilt my head far back to see their peaks.
There
are bigger mountains the further in you drive.
But
the ones assigned to welcome people, the ones on the distant edges are my
favourites. There is an ancient wisdom and peace about
them. Perhaps it comes from simply
standing in one place for so long. Or
perhaps it is their solidness and size.
Whatever it is I find comfort in them.
-->
I have lived for the last decade in the
foothills of these mountains. Yet it has
been at least two years since I have come to call on them. Yesterday, I returned. Once again amazed by their power and beauty.
Without a doubt, I am a beach woman. The sun, the sand, the pounding of the
waves, speak to my soul. Given a choice I chose the beach
every time. But I have come to realise
that a dose of the mountains every now and then is life giving too. They have their own kind of energy.
I could feel the energy shift as I drove in
yesterday. It isn’t always comfortable
for me which is why I like the ocean better.
Sometimes the mountains unsettle me.
There is structure and a sense of constraint as I stand in the midst of
them. Where the ocean speaks of endless
possibilities the mountains talk of setting goals and heading in a specific
direction.
I was only there less than twenty-four
hours, but I heard their whispers, their call to decisions which are always
held in the hand of the Creator. I
listened. Their voice has taken up
residence in the deepest places of my heart to give balance to the wide open
dare of the sea. Together their voices
blend to offer guidance as a I launch myself into the next unknown piece of my
life.
