It is about 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve and I am back from a long walk along Davie Street and down to English Bay.
It is a cold, clear day and from the distance I could see the whitecaps spiking on the dark gray green aquamarine highlighted water of the bay. It occurred to me that it might be very windy down by the water but I needed the exercise as I haven’t been getting much in all the rainy weather lately.
By the time I got down to the Bay I was already invigorated by my walk so far and the smiling faces of folks going about their last minute business before tomorrow’s holiday inspired me to make the most of this weather.
I pulled up the collar of my coat and put on my navy wool watch cap and quickened my steps as I crossed the intersection at Davie and Denman to reach the water.
The seawall was far from crowded but many of the people walking down there had smiles on their faces as it was a truly beautiful afternoon and what a way to spend the day before Christmas!
A middle-aged lone artist in a leather jacket sat sketching on the edge of the seawall, his back to the passers-by in a spot usually populated by other artists displaying their works, but today deserted because of the chill weather. His drawings were laid out side by side face up on the seawall ledge beside him. Most of them were intricate cityscapes with a local flavor.
By the time I reached the waters of the bay opposite the Parks Board offices where Kind Acts hosts their Monday night open mikes in the summer, I could hear and feel the thunderous force of the large surf pounding in. In places the waves were splashing up over the seawall while pedestrians ducked aside to avoid being drenched. I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between this raw activity of nature today and the few huge waves that came in a few days back over an otherwise peaceful bay.
The crash of surf is an unusual sound on this sheltered bay and it was wonderful music to listen to as I walked along breathing in the ocean air and watching a large flock of black waterfowl easily riding the wild surf and forming an undulating crowd of bodies moving in perfect and calm sympathy with the force of the ocean.
I thought of my sister Marilyn at home in Edmonton and of the times she has joined me along this route on her visits and of how much she would enjoy this day.
She often reminds me how lucky I am to live in such a picturesque part of Canada, where a teeming metropolis meets nature in such a simple and magnificent way that I too often take for granted.
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1 comment:
Hi Baba and Merry Christmas to you .
Thanks for the beautiful picture you painted (in your blog) of your walk on the seawall. When you write, you remind me to pay attention to what is around me to see.
I am deeply immersed in my Christmas present of a book called
The Mystic Trudeau --yes it is about Pierre Trudeau. And I had asked for it. I am not the only one haunted by an image of an intelligent sensitive man who was also a politician.
Somehow in our lives, we heard a calling to explore the inner self or as some would say our higher self.
The people in my life who stay with me and who give me inspiration are those who have sought for deeper meaning in life and somehow expressed it.
You are certainly one and perhaps my first example of someone who stayed true to his deeper self. The awareness of our connectedness, has brought so much peace to me.
I give thanks for the people who have set examples of the importance of connecting on a spiritual level.
The pictures you paint with words, provide the sense of connectedness for me.
Love,
Marilyn
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