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Writer's pictureHeather

A Sense of Place

Sometimes, from a new perspective, we see things differently.


Last summer we parked on the roadside at a place called Knowe. Wouldn't it be amazing to live there? A place where I really know and understand what is going on. A place where I know what is being meant when things are said to me and where I know how my words are received by others. But perhaps if life was too 'known' something of the intrigue of our humanity would be lost.


We walked from Knowe to find some ancient standing stones. Our destination was off our map, which was out-of-date anyway and we were out of sat-nav connectivity. A wind farm was being developed at the site so a network of roads was being created for construction traffic which confused our sense of direction. After walking miles we stumbled upon the stones, but not the place of calm serenity we had envisaged. Our walk at Knowe is memorable in the family archives and all the richer for not 'knowing'.


Over the last couple of months I have been playing my parental role of sitting in the passenger seat, a learner driver at the wheel. On single track roads this has made me very aware of Passing Places and got me thinking - What if?...

We view Passing Places as being so obviously there entirely for our convenience - a small area to draw into to allow oncoming traffic to pass, or the local driver, with no wish for meandering, to overtake. They are not intended as resting places.


What if, instead it was the place that was passing - that we were the transient feature - isn't that what we are? If we rush past we miss the sense of history in a place, a whole ecosystem and natural world that we often miss. If we stop we might notice the fragility of a place that may itself be passing unless we pay attention and care.


Think about something familiar and see if you can view it from a different perspective - it could enrich your world.


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