Shaping, Places

    In the distance a sunrise begins to swell behind a vast range of jagged snowcapped peaks.  Endless miles of wild land span the distance and a blanket of cold caresses the land, creating a museum of frozen trees.  The winter is deep and life shivers in its wake.  Below, we can view roads cutting through the ground, slicing this raw heaven into pieces and ravaging it’s natural beauty.  Small characters quickly skitter across the ground, desperate to reach the warmth of their cars and trucks.  The sounds of traffic can be heard in the distance.  Mankind has enslaved this land and now holds it in bondage.  A set of golden arches dances over the frozen tree line, this, another mark of man.  Creation seems to celebrate the arrival of the sun.

    Now we are inside, the cold slowly dissipates into the warmth surrounding us and, as our eyes adjust, a curtain is drawn back giving us a new perspective, a new sight to behold.  Cast out before us is a line of tables, cracks and scrapes gouged out of their legs, speaking at length of time since gone.  A layer of chalk dust lines the plush green felt cover that clings to the top of them.  Against a wall hungry machines are poised, their screens flashing vibrant colors, begging for attention and the loose change in our pockets.  This is a room of solace. A room of rest and relaxation.  A place where, for a time, we can let our cares go and enjoy, some small measure of relief.  The air pulsates with the life and energy of students come and gone. 

    As we blink, the world falls out beneath us and we have a grand sensation of flying.  We float quickly over countless lands and people, and they speed by like ghosts from a distant past.  New sensations begin to assault out senses as we descend from some point near the clouds.  Grass bows, slightly crunching beneath our feet as we land gently on the ground.  A soft breeze brushes our skin carrying the smells of a farmhouse and the warm undertones of a country kitchen.  From all directions fields full of various crops, creep up on the house as if attempting to guard it from the outside world.  The minutes pass but time seems to stand still as the surrounding beauty captivates our view.  Dogs bark off in the distance, and here, life seems simple and whole.  A farmhouse, tall by most standards, seems to be the focal point of this area.  Outside of it stand two children, eyes in eager anticipation of the day to come.

    Three places, a lookout point, a college game room, and a place from a time out of the distant past.  Here, though, there is more than meets the eye.  Many threads form and cling to one another, creating a delicate web of connection to each of these places, and yet there are vast spaces keeping them apart.  All of them contain life and energy and beauty constantly shaping everything they interact with.  You can not emerge from a place the same person if you have never been there before.  Nor can you ever see the same place in the exact same way twice.  Though the place may be the same, we, as humans are constantly evolving.  With this evolution comes new perspectives and new ways of seeing.  From this we can see that places tend to shape people, as much as people tend to shape places.

For me, home is here in Alaska, and anywhere I am lucky enough to have those that care about me!