Landscapes of Scotland

This is the first in a series of posts from a Spring trip to Scotland and Ireland. Our time in Scotland was primarily spent touring the Highlands and the Isle of Skye, with a few days in Edinburgh. I invite you to pause, lean into the written word, read it out loud. Step into each photograph, visualize yourself transported. Feel the ground beneath your feet, the chill in the air, the wind on your face. Listen for the whisper of history and just notice if anything arises; thoughts, felt senses or emotions. May your heart, mind, body and soul embrace the Spirit and Beauty of the land, sea, and sky that is close at hand.

Yellow gorse and peat bogs the color of dried blood
paint a lonesome, not entirely unwelcoming, pallet.
The sheep move slow. The locals drive fast.
So, take kindly. Life here can be both harsh and hardy.

Cliffs or sandy beaches, where sea meets land
the winds care not, for they ride the North Sea current,
piercing deep to the marrow of one’s bones, exposing
ancestral memories, raw, foreboding yet familiar.

Transported back in time, a mirage of marauding Saxons
crests the hills with blades drawn, shield walls intact,
while Viking ships dot the horizon blue-on-blue.
The Unicorn and thistle stay strong.

Mystical and mythic– land, lochs, sky, and light.
Vistas in the Scottish Highlands entice and mesmerize.
Vast spaciousness, both freeing and mysterious.
The luminous edge of the world beckons.
Sláinte!

©LjWinston