Doing ordinary things in a different landscape causes us to see our own with new eyes. But it is not only the view that is refreshing. It is the quiet. Not that there was much on our holiday with seven children. But those snippets of quiet, when everything stops, are like balm to the busy mind, when met intentionally.
But what I am wondering is if it is ever really possible to express creatively the nature of a persons relationship to the landscape if you have never lived there. The Yorkshire Dales are so far removed from the flat lands of Essex. How does it feel to only really see the sun once it is well risen? How is it that emergncy supplies are half an hour away? Does it mean the sense of comunity is greater?
Perhaps our imagination is such that it is possible. After all, writing history is the same. I could not live as a woman when Kitty did. However much I read about the time, in the end it was my imagination that had to come into play. I'd love to ask you to respond but I haven't set up a mailing list yet. If you find me, do let me know what you think through the contact page.