Monday, May 17, 2010

In god's country


This past weekend I was in VT for my brother's graduation. His college is in a part of the state that doesn't have consistent cell phone reception- a strange phenomenon to this urbanite. That said, I found the quiet very peaceful. Different landscapes evoke various states of mind. Being surrounded by the mountains up there created such a wonderful sense of tranquility and calmness. For the first time in weeks, I felt myself slow down. The sky was its own landscape as the clouds gathered and dispersed over and over again, playing unbelievably beautiful tricks with the light.

During the weekend, there were many great talks about various avenues of life. On one of the rides back to the motel, my family and I talked about the pros and cons of living in such a rural area. While it would be a beautiful place to live, a less crowded life (on so many levels), points were made around the challenges it would have- possible loneliness, constant work, significant dependency on the well being of your car and so on. Like one of those optical illusion (Do you see the older lady or the younger woman), I could look at life off the land with my idealist eye as well as my realist eye, and appreciate the beauty and hard work it would have. I can't say that I'll be moving to a rural setting any time soon, and I do love my fully accessible urban life ( Hello, WiFi, you sexy thing you), I was reminded of the power in the quiet spaces in the world, and their importance in my life. One goal from this weekend is to make an effort to visit my brother up north, and to experience his rhythm and peaceful surroundings again.

The title of this post is not meant to reflect religious beliefs, but rather spiritual ones. To me, god is love, nature and that tangible glue-like energy that holds our relationships together. I felt all of these components over the weekend and was humbled and empowered by them at the same time. Other lighter highlights of the weekend include-
* The formal wear optional component of the graduation- Most (if not all) of the graduates wore knee high or higher farming (deliciously splattered with mud) boots during graduation. I was inspired to do something similar at my wedding:)
* The road named 'Wicked Bad Rd'. For serious. So not making this up.
* We drove by Ariel's Riverside Cafe and Bar in Montpelier- definitely need to go there in the future.
* Cabot cheese tasting stations, nuff said:)

2 comments:

  1. Kevin and I have discussed the possibility of moving to some more rural area--possibly in NH--where we'd be closer to the kind of hiking that we like to do. I'm lucky in that I bloom wherever I'm planted, but I do consider myself to be a city girl. I love, love, love walking cities and public libraries, but I hardly ever avail myself of "cultural opportunities" and restaurants. I would love a lot more room to garden, and the ability to keep chickens and goats. I can't wait to see what happens in our future. :)

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