This Place: A Quote

I went for a quick morning walk along the spit yesterday before work. The sun was coming up, the air was cold, the water intensely blue. There were mountains in crisp white covers to both sides of me, the coastal mountains behind the islands and the Central Vancouver Island mountain range beyond the fringe of the city. As I walked two bald eagles squawked and cried in the sky before settling down on a pole near the path.

There are times this place takes my breath away. Times I am overcome and unable to believe this is where I live, that this is my daily luck, my never-ending back yard.

“…she closed her eyes for a moment and saw the hills, and the burns tumbling down, and the veils of fine rain. And she thought, One can love a country until it hurts.” – Alexander McCall Smith The Careful Use of Compliments

That quote has stuck with me since I read it earlier this year. I understand it, I get it deep down inside of me, because I feel that way when I look around me. I hope everyone gets to experience such a connection to their ‘country’ – the place they call home.