Black and White Wednesday: That Place

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged

to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."

Nelson Mandela

This is that place for me. That place that remains unchanged. 

I am blessed to be able to visit this valley almost once a year ~ the large sky and open lands greet me. Inspire me. Fill me. This place {and the family we have there} have been a haven and a constant through the most tumultuous, unstable years of my life. And I am beyond grateful to have them.

My return to Oregon this year was as wonderful as ever...the mountains, sky and fields were still just as magnificent as when I left them. There was one thing, though, that was very different.

Me.

There's been a shift. And it's kind of hard to describe. Yet it's as obvious to me as the wisps of the clouds across these vast skies. I left the valley last year determined to make, of my daily surroundings, more of a sanctuary. To live with a more profound appreciation of  the beauty and the gifts around me. I know that I have lived with more awareness this year. Less regret. More surrender. Less dissatisfaction. More honesty. More peace. 

It was so interesting to feel inspired and comforted by my 'unchanged' place...but not to have needed it as I have before. I didn't arrive parched and emotionally spent...my soul thirst fully quenched only as I left. And I am just delighted! Delighted to realize that I've found sanctuary and am more soul-filled in my day to day then I've been for a very, very long time. 

Delighted by this change in me.