Standing at the top of the Great Orme in Llandudno, Wales, February 2013. I was alone and it was windy. Very windy. The sun was out and the sky a bright blue with puffs of wispy clouds floating by. I could see the Irish Sea in the distance; crescents of quiet sandy beaches and little dotted houses peacefully in rows. There were hilly fields of green all around me and I was standing on top of the world, in the middle of nowhere, without another soul in sight.
It had been a cold, long winter and this rare moment of colorful skies above without any grey was long overdue. The wind was brisk and harsh, but the bright glow of the setting sun created an illusion of warmth that made it tolerable. I was walking upwards, the only goal being to get to the highest point in Great Orme Country Park. I passed through gardens and farms and fields. I crossed paths with Kashmiri goats casually going about their business, their white beards giving them an aura of wisdom and experience.
When I had reached the top, I took a moment to pause. To think about what had led me to this point in my life. To the top of the world, in the middle of nowhere, without another soul in sight.
When I had reached the top, I took a moment to pause. To think about what had led me to this point in my life. To the top of the world, in the middle of nowhere, without another soul in sight.
I was interning at Harlaxton College and was in my second month of living in the United Kingdom. I was in North Wales that weekend leading a group of 48 students who at that moment were likely keeping warm in a museum or cafe or pub (most likely a pub). It was my first work trip as the sole leader and my professional confidence was still in its early stages of growth. Thinking about the steps that had led me to the top of that hill was like playing with a Jacob’s Ladder--interwoven and never ending. I had come to the UK by way of Morocco via Vermont starting in Oregon. Throw in Ghana, North Carolina, Russia and Prague and you are getting towards a more complete picture. But not without France or Japan. And those are just the places; the various people along the way playing just as equal a part. But in this moment I was alone, and that’s how I wanted it.
Standing at the top of the Great Orme in Llandudno, Wales, February 2013, I experienced one of those rare moments in life when an inexplicable wave of feeling washes over you. A wave of calm and contentment. Of tranquility. Of peace. Of excitement. Of happiness. Of life. And of acceptance of the tiny, miniscule place we each occupy in the world.
Standing at the top of the Great Orme in Llandudno, Wales, February 2013, I experienced one of those rare moments in life when an inexplicable wave of feeling washes over you. A wave of calm and contentment. Of tranquility. Of peace. Of excitement. Of happiness. Of life. And of acceptance of the tiny, miniscule place we each occupy in the world.
I have felt this wave of feeling a few other times on my travels. It starts as a tingling on the skin and then manifests itself as a knot inside the stomach (similar to whenever you saw your crush in the hallway in middle school, even though you had never spoken a word to each other). This wave has hit me in Dingle, Ireland after a long night of cider and live music in a pub getting to know the band members and bartenders; on a local bus in Portugal going from Cascais to Sintra, weaving back and forth on the windy, steep hills surrounded by a blanket of trees and thick fog; and almost everytime I get off the train upon arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland at Waverley Station.
I don’t think I will ever forget that moment I felt in Llandudno, Wales, February 2013, standing on top of the world, in the middle of nowhere, without another soul in sight A spiritual person might call it a moment with a higher power or being, or being one with nature, or with humanity, or with oneself. For now, I will just call it a moment of calm and contentment.
I don’t think I will ever forget that moment I felt in Llandudno, Wales, February 2013, standing on top of the world, in the middle of nowhere, without another soul in sight A spiritual person might call it a moment with a higher power or being, or being one with nature, or with humanity, or with oneself. For now, I will just call it a moment of calm and contentment.