Moving On

This has been an amazingly magical weekend – one I really needed. I am writing this at the base of the White Lady waterfall in Lydford Gorge. A place of such peace and beauty that words on a screen cannot ever portray it, or even come close.
I have had time to think and reflect – to take stock. I have also had time to remember and to reconnect with my spirituality. It’s significant for me that to do this I had to return to my birthplace in the great South West. We went to Boscastle yesterday. Our first visit in maybe 3 years. A lot has changed since the flood disaster but I’m happy to say that, even though much of the village has been rebuilt, it has kept it’s charm and magic.
It was raining but I still needed to walk to the top of the cliffs. Cerri chose to stay in the village so I began my walk along the craggy path. With each step I took I found myself becoming more and more emotional. Until, when I reached the brow of the hill, saw the open Atlantic, heard the gulls calling, the roar of the crashing ocean, I was completely overwhelmed. The Welsh call this feeling ‘Hiraeth’, an overwhelming longing for home. Now as Spirit of Albion says I love this Isle entirely, but there is something about this granite penninisula that fills me up. Maybe all ex pat Cornish feel the same? I don’t know. But I do know that this ex pat Cornishman is feeling reconnected and alive again after walking along ‘Cornwall’s Rocky Shore’.

2 responses to “Moving On”

  1. Amazing view!
    I can imagine what it must be like to be there, and what this place means for you. Have a good time, and enjoy. The Irish translate “to enjoy” (a stay or something alike) with “ag baint”, meaning to harvest. I like this metaphor, as it implies that you take something home with you from the stay.
    So, “Go bainfidh tú ó do thaisteal!” – “May you enjoy your trip!”

    And, to properly state my best wishes for the ex pat Cornishman:
    “Ehaz ha sowenath whath tho why ha tho goz henath!”
    – “Health and prosperity ever to you and yours!”

    Peace,
    #Roidsear

  2. Hi Damh,

    I’m Welsh and am very familiar with hiraeth… it is truly a very overpowering feeling. However this entry resonates with me on two levels – the aforementioned hiraeth and also the feeling you describe from Cornwall. Although I am Welsh born and a true Cymraes, I absolutely adore Cornwall and feel spiritually free there – so much so that I plan to move there in the next few years. So I don’t know about ex pat Cornish, but I too feel the spirit of the place like a heartbeat flowing in the ocean… just to let you know that you’re not alone.

    Eala Serenarian

    P.S. Serenarian is a Welsh construct, comprising of two words – ‘seren’ meaning star and ‘arian’ meaning silver. So it means ‘silver star’.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.