Knowing that you live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world and truly appreciating it are two very different things. I grew up in a small Alberta town that borders the Rocky Mountains and knew I lived in a beautiful place. Every day I looked out and could see the giant peaks reaching up to the sky, separated only by alpine valleys and rugged rivers coursing their way to the Pacific.
I had a basic understanding of the place and when I talked to people, I would always reference the fact that I lived in the foothills of the Rockies, somehow knowing that just being in the presence of this great band of rock was of great value.
Yet, it always remained distant to me and continued to serve as a beautiful backdrop to photos and a nice view out of my bedroom window.
I never truly found a deep connection to what surrounded me and, despite it being my literal home, I didn鈥檛 feel I had a place there.
The haste of youth and a desire for new surroundings found me travelling halfway around the world to swap the beauty of Canada with the beauty of Ireland. In this new country I found a new home for my heart 鈥� I found Leigh, the Irishman who became my husband 鈥� and also found the desire for travelling. I yearned for the big city life and everything that it could offer me. I spent six wonderful years travelling, working and absorbing as much culture as I could.
Yet, every time I would head to the countryside, to the wide-open spaces and small towns, I felt a yearning to be back in the wild spaces I grew up. Maybe it was true: You can take the girl out of the mountains, but you can鈥檛 take the mountains out of the girl.
We slowly made the decision to return to Canada and the life that I had left behind. This time, however, we settled a little further west, making Squamish our new home.
Despite not moving back to the grand Rocky Mountains, I knew I wanted the mountains to somehow be a part of my life, and as an islander, Leigh felt the desire to be near the salty air of the ocean.
Squamish was going to prove to be more that we could have ever dreamt. Surrounded by rugged coastal mountains and the fjord of Howe Sound, there was something magical about this place; the lingering clouds that often hovered in the dense rainforest made me feel I was a character in a storybook.
As we started to head out into the forest and on the local trails we were soon led deeper into the trees and higher into the mountains. We were connecting to this place and to nature in a way I didn鈥檛 think was possible.
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Spending as much free time as I could running, hiking and climbing meant that I was in contact with the natural world in a way that I never was before. I was touching the stone, smelling the cedar-scented air and looking at the complexities of the snow-clad peaks as I navigated my way through these places.
I was starting to sense that there was more than beauty to see; there was sense of being home, a sense that I belonged in the natural world around me. I was discovering that I felt my happiest outside.
Recently I discovered a Maori word, trangawaewae, that literally means a place to stand 鈥� a place where you feel empowered and especially connected to the world. Squamish is my trangawaewae. It is here that I have found a place to stand. Now I can look back and truly appreciate that with which I grew up.
It was more than just mountains, just as Squamish is more than just mountains and ocean to fill the horizon in a photo.
It is a deep sense of belonging and an understanding that life to me is now about discovering the world that directly surrounds me. It is a direct connection to the rock as I climb, to the trees that tower above me as I hike or to the air as I run through a cloud on a rainy day in Squamish.
My eyes have been reopened and I carry this newfound appreciation with me whenever I go into the natural world. To me, Squamish is not about the buildings or the streets; it鈥檚 about the blue skies and rainy days that remind me that nothing stays the same and forces me to discover my connection to what surrounds me.
Now, each day as I look out my bedroom window, I not only know that I live in a special part of the world, but I truly appreciate what this means and I know how I can be part of it.
What do you see when you look out your window?
