“My heart’s in the
Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart’s in the
Highlands, a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild
deer, and following the roe,
My heart’s in the
Highlands, wherever I go.”
-Robert Burns
Scotland. Where do I begin?
I suppose I shall begin at the beginning – the 8:00 am train
ride to the beautiful city of Edinburgh. I settle in to the surprisingly
comfortable seat and sleepily gaze out at the vivid green landscape of the
English countryside…but I can’t quite seem to relax. A girl nearby is talking,
rather loudly, to her mother on the phone. Trying to end the call, the girl quickly
explains that she needs to begin reading Shakespeare’s King Lear. Apparently,
her mother had problems hearing her. I certainly didn’t.
“I have to read King Lear.”
“Mom. King Lear.”
“Kiiiiiiiing Leeeeeaaaar.”
“King Lear? King Lear?! KING LEAR!!!”
Lovely.
Scotland also has a wee artistic side to it. (Did you notice
I said ‘wee’?) Scottish musicians include Annie Lennox, Franz Ferdinand, The
Fratellis, Snow Patrol, and KT Tunstall. Most importantly though, Scotland has
given birth to some of the finest actors in Hollywood: Gerard Butler (my personal favorite), Sean Connery, and Ewan McGregor.
...
Yet, the following day, as we travel from Edinburgh into the
majestic Highlands, I realize that Scotland’s most valuable claim is not
penicillin, not television, not even – dare I say it – Gerard, but rather, its
mysterious power to transcend time and space.
Driving through the Monadhliath Mountains past stunning
lochs, I watch as the mist hangs low over the mighty mountain crags. Along the
winding slopes, the rusty heather sways lazily in the wind. And through the
rain-speckled window, the turning trees blur into a blazing kaleidoscope of
fiery color.
I’m rooted within the present and the past, the real and the
fantastical. Is it Caledonia? Am I en route to Hogwarts? Have I stumbled upon
Middle Earth?
One experiences a certain feeling of timelessness wandering
through the hills and plains. I felt neither young nor old – just human. People
had roamed the land thousands of years before me and people will continue to
walk that land long after I’m gone. The land is a constant. Time might go on,
people might come and go, but that land will always be the link connecting the
past to the present and the present to the future. It’s a living, rustic,
colorful example of everlasting beauty.
Experiencing this natural, and yet unnatural beauty, also helped me understand why authors, like JK Rowling, were so heavily inspired by the surrounding Scottish scenery. There’s no way NOT to be inspired. The stunning stone architecture, the black, looming mountains, and the rolling hills of green evoke a magic that bewitches the imagination. Add to this Scotland’s colorful past – an extraordinary
mixture of Highland warriors, clan rivalries, murders, outlaws, and epic
battles. One of the stories I found most entertaining to imagine in my head was
that of a Highlands tribe of hulking men, painted blue from head to toe, who
rather enjoyed charging into battle stark naked. I can only imagine the stunned
faces of the invaders as they watched a whole tribe of blue, naked men with
massive battleaxes running down the hills towards them. Indeed, real life is
often stranger than fiction.
Though we don’t always realize it, the stories of fantasy
and magic in “other worlds” are often inspired and based upon the magic of real
places, real situations, real people. Scotland is one of those places. The
power of the mountains has humbled me. The vibrant flora has inflamed my mind.
The icy breeze has pierced my soul. I’ve entered into a place of magic and
communed with the land. That communion is eternal.
I’ll forget the names of the building and monuments. I’ll
forget the stories. I’ll forget the people I was with.
But I’ll never forget how I felt – that will never fade
away.
...
To see my complete album of Scotland pictures, please follow this link:
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