30/365: Scotland as Viewed from from British Airways
Our church Session celebrated its annual (sort of) Robert Burns party this past week-end. I will spare you the raucous behavior, the poetry readings, and the dramatic presentation and evisceration of the haggis. Let's just go back to Scotland.
His knife see rustic Labour dight, An' cut ye up wi' ready slight, Trenching your gushing entrails bright Like onie ditch; And then, O what a glorious sight, Warm-reekin, rich!
Gannets are enormous and sleek creamy-white seabirds, with black wingtips, yellow heads and necks, and startlingly outlined eyes. They nest on the rocky cliffs of the European and North American coasts of the North Atlantic and, once grown, spend their days sailing across the ocean. The acrobatics by which they make their living ~ steep climbs into the air and speedy plunges straight into the sea ~ are rivaled only by those of pelicans.
What better metaphor for a sweeping search of one's life choices and opportunities than a gannet extended above the waves, a regal and yet restless surveyor of the vast ocean surface? The gannet reminds us that life is an adventure in both beauty and profound unease, and that the sea itself is limitless in its textures and possibilities.
5 comments:
Sounds like a plan; who's buying the tickets?!
Wow. Beautiful picture.
Loved Scotland. Wish I could go back. It's in the blood, you know.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut ye up wi' ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!
Robbie really got into it, eh?
You're right on target.
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