A couple weeks ago, I was in Scotland. This photo is of Saint Columba’s Bay (at the bottom of the post), a surprising and beautiful destination on the Isle of Iona that most people don’t trek to for many reasons (including they can’t physically walk there, they don’t have time, etc.).
Imagine the scene: my traveling companion and I head out on the ferry from Mull to Iona with our rain gear and cameras. It’s a bumpy ride with thirty-five mile per hour winds (thank God it was only a ten-minute ride!). We stop at a cafe for sustenance and then we head out, following the really rough map in my Iona pilgrimage book. I thought we could wing it. Close but no cigar.
The path went from asphalt to a rough trail to a non-existent path through a golf course. My traveling partner started to get twitchy, because we’re trained in the US to not walk through golf courses. We see two people playing up ahead, and swing wide to the right of them. We look down and see a ravine. She says to me, “I’m not doing that.” I laugh and don’t disagree. So we turn around and ask the Scotsmen for help. They point us in the correct direction (to the left of hole 3) and we carry on.
We follow the sheep trail and get to the place where I took this picture. It was a surprise because it felt like we were walking for hours (it was really only about ninety minutes) and would never get there. As I crested the final hill and took in this view, I unconsciously stopped and took a deep breath. The ocean stretched out in front of me and of course there were sheep. And the thought that popped in my head was, “this is why I’m here.” It was worth the walk, all 30,000 steps.
Questions to ponder:
Where in your life or work have you persevered and were grateful you did?
What did you learn about yourself?
Stay curious friends!
