Calvin's Weblog

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

The date was December 29th, 2003. It was a clear and sunny day, but the temperature was skulking somewhere between -4 and -6 all day. Carole and I were supposed to meet some friends on Cypress Mountain for a fun day of tubing down the slopes, but we somehow got our messages crossed, and while we thought we were supposed to meet them at four PM, they had infact met at noon. In retrospect, four PM should have sounded suspicious, as that left only an hour of daylight... but anyway...
We spent a lazy morning watching the special features on the Gangs of New York DVD, and eating Christmas chocolates. When it came time to leave (around 3PM) we realized our mistake - but, not to be dismayed, we set out on a nice drive through the countryside. "Bring your camera" I told Carole, "It's a beautiful day, lets go to some of the beaches around here - I bet they'll be deserted, since it's so cold... maybe we could get some nice pictures?" Boy did we ever.
Our first stop was Bunzen Lake. It was far from deserted. Actually, I think 'packed' would more accurately describe it. We made our way to the shore and snapped a few pictures, managing to keep the picknicing and barbequing families out of them (yes, surreal as it sounds, in -6 weather on Dec. 29th, there were a lot of beach BBQs... but I'll get to that)

Here's a shot of the pristine lake on that gloriously beautiful day.

Now back to the hoards of family picnics... hopefully this doesn't come out the wrong way, but all of the families were Asian. I do mean all... I honestly think hat Carole and I were the only white people on the beach. As we meandered along the placid shore, we wondered why that was. It really made us think, seeing how important family is in the Chinese culture. How regarless of weather or temperature or time of year, these people were making time for their families and sharing the amazing day with one another. Not only that, but it was inspiring how they were taking advantage of the natural beauty and free parklands that most of us Vancouverites completely take for granted. When you step back and think of how completely awe inspiring our majestic landscape must be to someone from Hong Kong, it really make you realize how bady we've squandered it.
Carole and I both resolved on the spot that for the rest of the day, we would seek the beauty in everything, and see the raw simplistic perfection in every element of our natural surroundings. It certainly helped that it was a beautiful day to begin with, but once we really started to look - I mean stop all the thoughts in your head, take a deep breath, and 'feel' with all your senses, your entire surroundings - it's like being touched by God. It's like the floodgate has opened and every leaf, every drop of dew, every swath of frost, every bird, every spiderweb, every ray of sunshine is in and of itself, absolutely perfect. And peaceful.
Our next stop was Belcarra. A nice drive through a protected forrest opens up on the Seymore arm, and the view across this narrowinland Pacific ocean inlet is of the North Shore's Deep Cove.

Here's me crouching on a rock, breathing deep of the frosty ocean air, feeling the warmth of the sun, and the chill of the wind, and looking out at the array of colours on the montainside.

The sun turned everything it touched to gold that day.

Gnarled trees bathed in the sunlight, danced in the wind, and cast the most intricate and amazing shadows as the glistening grass reaches ever westward, catching the last rays of a setting sun.

Every tree had a story to tell us. This one was very pleased that we took the time to notice her, even though she insisted that we should come back again when she's in full bloom. We promised we would.

The sun was now almost set, and we started to leave. But as we did, one last tree called to us, thanked us for coming, and cast to us the last rays of twilight, to help us on our way.

Perhaps it was just one magical day. Perhaps the heavens opened and shone down on us for some special reason. Perhaps we were 'meant' to feel this peace and oneness with the world on this day only... Or perhaps we were given the gift of sight, to see what has always been there, and will always be there if we take the time to look.
As it turns out, I believe, it was all of the above. The heavens really did open up that day, and we truley were being watched over. We really had been given the gift of inner peace, and shown the beauty in everything. We casually made our way home, not wanting this perfect day to end, but knowing that we made the most of it, and that we could do the same any day we wanted, now that we knew how to 'look'. Not twenty minutes after getting home, the phone rang. While we were out, enjoying his last gift, Carole's brother David had passed away.

Posted by Calvin at January 24, 2004 12:24 PM