The Romantic Facade of Solitude

To describe Greenland as beautiful is an understatement as epic and vast as the surrounding landscape. Massive icebergs jut out of the ocean reaching skyward. Glaciers and fjords battle for dominance in a fight that can be felt miles away. It’s hard to imagine that a place with such beauty could hide such sadness. As a visitor, it’s easy to get caught up in the romantic facade of solitude, but under the surface is a larger issue that beauty cannot fix.

NPR did a really interesting article about arctic suicides that can be found here. If you have some time, it’s worth a read, and it will give you a better idea of the issues that face Inuit villages throughout the north.

We All Watch the Same Sun Rise and Fall

It’s hard to comprehend all the hate in the world sometimes. We all watch the same sun rise and fall each day. We all feel pain and grief when friends and family leave this life. We can all feel the peace and solitude of a lonely lake shore, or the cool breeze on a quiet evening.

As I write these words, I know that I’m wrong, and maybe that’s the problem.

Heaven and Earth

Washington - Heaven and earth pass before us, arcing out across the skies, and yet we are transfixed on what is out of reach. The inconsequential buries us beneath a mound of insecurities, consuming our lives but we rearrange our priorities to accommodate. For what? Is it isolation that we seek? Is it solitude?

When we wake do we dream of the eternal, or do our dreams waste away in a sea of likes and comments? Our infinite wasted, our potential squandered. We float through space, among the stars and galaxies, selfishly consuming the vast quantity of garbage that inhabits the void, but the world rotates and we continue our journey on an unknown path.

The path leads us into the woods, walking through the trees, feeling the mist of water against our skin, the thundering sound reverberates deep within us. hope illuminates the horizon, trees silhouette against the mountains. The earth exhales and we feel it's warmth. It speaks and we listen. If only we listen.