“My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.” Michael J. Fox
My secondary objectives for travelling to a quiet Swiss village were to satisfy my insatiable desire to write, and to take myself from an automatic mode to one of more mindfulness. This place is indeed a world away from the Horseshoe Bay I left behind.
Several years ago I completed an environmental science course and soon discovered my profound interest in species adaptations. I gained a better understanding of our interconnectedness, and a need to approach change with humility. On the 14th day of my stay, I find myself content. Although I am no longer short of breath when climbing to the village, navigating the changing trail has my undivided attention. While the ever-increasing moonlight has replaced the need for a night light, I long for an easier coexistence with the spiders who share this space with me.
This morning, I awakened to a deafening silence. Looking out the window, I quickly understood. The mountains were tenderly cloaked in a blanket of snow. Breaking this serenity, loud blasts echoed from the opposite ski slopes, followed promptly by the release of the snowpack.
As I continue to adapt and navigate the numerous changes unfolding around me, I find solace in the beauty of nature and the partnership that binds us. Somehow, the blasts announcing the departure of the “Queen of Oak Bay” from the terminal, seem so distant now, embedded in a different time and place.
