Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Somewhere Between North and South

Picture this if you would: to my right, mountains as old the Earth itself, capped with snowy remains from what was a long, arduous winter, and stretching out as far as the eye can see. To my left, the Atlantic Ocean, and its white-capped waves lapping against a sandy, rocky beach. I would tear my eyes from one scenic glory to only gaze in wonder upon the other.
And somewhere in between I would remember to focus on the sometimes windy highway.
Driving along the west coast on the Island of Newfoundland, on a day's journey in Gros Morne National Park, I watched seagulls float on ocean wind currents, and thought about life. How surreal it can be, how it forces me to pay attention, and what I take from it. These are some of the sights I saw during a trip between northern and southern Newfoundland...remember, this is all in one day. Here you go, and may you enjoy.
Gros Morne, the mountain before time, stood off to my peripheral, its top shrouded in cloud, and below it, a layered forest of dark green, dusty white, light yellow, and pale orange trees begged my eye to notice. To my right, the road faded into a cliff, and hundreds of feet below that, a sea inlet rose and fell between fjords of majestic ranges.
I blinked, and suddenly was deep into the interior of Canada's National Park. Towering crags gave way to large ponds, large ponds gave way to smaller ponds, and even a bull moose stood proud on the side of the road.
And I laughed. And I gave thanks for what is afforded to me.
I followed the road as it curved up and over a high rising bluff, and underneath a town nestled into a bank of trees and an ocean floor exposed in a low tide. Green hills filled my rearview mirror, and blue waters marked the passge of time.
Then, the rocky, shamble of a road, led through mountains of orange soil, and to the right a garden of rocks that, once upon a time, was the ocean floor so many eons ago. I drove into the town that time forgot, dropped off my message, and made my way out the same way I came in.
A rolling hill bottomed out to a view of flowing water passing through a channel of shaved rock, sandy stone, and a melange of coloured trees.
Oh God what a beautiful place my Island is, people, it truly is a sight to behold.
Life is short. Did you know that? Did you know that every passing second is an opportunity to stretch past trivial worries and momentary fears about the future? We, as the ruling race on this planet, need to see that we are not the supreme beings here. We need to see that we are all just a small, tiny piece of a much larger puzzle. This world was around so much longer than us...and unless we realize that, it might not last much longer.
You must grab life, you must accept it as the offering of hope and faith that it is meant to be. Understand the value of the air you breathe, feel it enter and leave your lungs, and maybe, someday, you will see the beauty like I did today...and then maybe you might just hold that breath in just a little bit longer.
Absorb life my friends, absorb it until it becomes what you want it to be. Make the choice to be happy, make the choice to be free, but please, make the choice to live this life the best way you could ever imagine...I mean, what if you knew this life was the only one you had? Would you do anything different? Would you wake the same way every morning knowing that time is slipping away like summer pollen on the rising wind?
Or would you realize that we have as much time as we need, it is only asked that we make the best of it in how it is used...so use it wisely and be free; be strong in the face of your struggles. Remember, they too will soon pass. Until we meet again, people, until we meet again.

"The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it."
- W. M. Lewis