Friday, November 4, 2011

journal excerpt: new brunswick

We camp in Fundy National Park. It takes us several drives of the campground loop to pick what we consider the ideal site. After the tents are set up, we hike down to an inlet. The tide (the largest in the world) is in, so the inlet is full of seawater, and it's calm and warm. Amy and I swim and Eric skips rocks. 

Afterwards, we stand dripping water from our hair, our bare feet making prints in the rocky sand. We're waiting for a family of hikers to stop admiring the waterfall and ocean inlet so that we can change out of her bathing suits in the bushes. Amy remarks that she feels so alive standing here by the sea in her bare feet, and I know what she means.


Later, while Eric eats granola bars and naps in the car, Amy and I hike through the woods to a waterfall. It is, of course, beautiful. We take photos, but I don't know how to change the shutter speed, so my photos could be better.


On the hike back down, I happen to look down to see a small purple flower, lit by a tiny square of sunlight coming through the canopy like a spotlight. I am struck by its simple beauty, its tenacity and innocence. A delicate thing growing up through rock and moss in the dim understory.


By the time I get the camera out, the sun has moved and the moment is gone.

This precious moment of pure light probably happens once per day, and I am blessed enough to have seen it. 

Some beautiful things are just gifts not meant to be preserved. 

3 comments:

  1. I changed on the beach in NS! Behind a rock! I love swimming in the ocean. It is so powerful, so beautiful, so alive.

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  2. I know! The ocean is so special. Here's what I wrote in my journal after plunging into the icy waves at our campground in PEI (remember?):

    "I run into the ocean on our campsite beach. The waves are huge and scary, crashing against my body, splashing my face. My numb feet stumble across the rocky bottom. I just keep watching the swells grow and break as they approach. They could be bringing anything with them, and I will never know until they arrive, over and over.

    I have never touched such a wild thing."

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  3. The more you notice and appreciate the Gifts from God, the more He gives you, the more you notice..... is very cool indeed.

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