Where is it that you have a sense of belonging to the land? A place you feel rooted? What vista feeds your soul?
Some describe it as a place where they feel “home,” while others describe a place that stirs their mind and soul.
One morning this past June, I woke up in a Malmerby Hall in northern England for the beginning of a walking tour with the poet, David Whyte. At the first gathering of 18 people in an expansive room of the manor house, David shared how significantly he is connected to this land – the Northern Lakes District. He grew up not far away from here and has been coming back for twenty-five years with his friend, Edward.
Together, they’ve walked this rugged, undulating topography since the year that bore them each a son. Walking tours became a part of David Whyte’s business in the mid-1980’s.
“This,” he says, “is my geography of place. This is a place I feel firmly bound to. It is here I am in the love of the land and all that it returns to my being and soul.”
To live fully and intentionally, he wants you to find yours.
Megan, one of the participants in the walking tour, describes a gravitational pull toward Australia where she first visited 30 years ago. “I knew it was home for me,” she said. She moved there from England – away from her family and friends – and has lived there since. “I return to England each year but my heart never leaves Australia.
Talk to your people about their geography of space and you’ll discover:
- Many people have discovered theirs, others haven’t.
- A place that fuels your soul may have some history with you, but often it does not.
- Geography of place doesn’t have to be majestic. (A holler in Kentucky works for me. See below.)
- While you don’t necessarily have to live in your geography of space, (though many people do), knowing where it is and returning often, like David Whyte, suffices.
Can you have multiple places that feed your spirit and soothe a soul? I think so. I live by the sea, on purpose; but walking Butcher Holler in Kentucky can refurbish my insides; and the Andes Mountains seem to call me (and I might make a 3rd return part of my next sabbatical).
Sabbaticals often can be used to find one’s geography of place. For all the roaming we do in life, have you discovered the place that connects you with the land? Do you know the spot that feeds your soul?
When are you going next?
One Response so far (add yours)
Continuing the Discussion
[...] who recently walked the Camino de Santiago while on sabbatical. I met Filiz in June 2010 during my trek in Northern England with the poet David [...]