I’m excited for you to have this journey. New experiences, new remembrances, and certainly new perspective await you. I’m looking forward to hearing about all of it! ❤️
How lovely. I have Scottish (including Pictish) and Irish ancestry, and have been several times to Ireland and Scotland, so your article really has me stirred up with longing to go. I have found that, while itineraries are useful to see sacred sites, booking my time solid is a miserable experience. Then I don't get to follow the intriguing trail down a small cobbled street or to stop and talk to a donkey then feed that little beggar carrots. Leisure time is an absolute must for having the leeway to visit with a native who shares other places to see off the beaten path. May I recommend Callanish, an amazing stone circle like no other I've ever seen? You will have to take a catamaran to the Isle of Lewis to visit, but well worth it. And fairly close to Edinburg is Dunino Den, a magical site with an ancient face carved on the side of the crag that includes an area thought to be for worship. Oh my goodness! I'm excited for you. Have a fabulous time. If you are going by yourself, don't worry. The Scots will assist you!
I love that you are going to Scotland not as someone demanding answers, but as a pilgrim — curious, humble, open, and willing to be changed. There is something so moving about returning to ancestral ground with no need to prove belonging, only a desire to listen.
“What still breathes here?” feels like the perfect question to carry.
May Scotland meet you in grandeur, yes, but also in tenderness, shared weather, laughter, mist, marmalade, and all the ordinary holy moments that know how to find a willing heart.
Cheryl I have a great great grandmother who the mythic story told in the family tree was Jewish and fled Poland to England way back in the mid 1800s and her name was Elizabeth Swain (doesn't sound Polish but I know a lot of immigrants change their names to avoid detection as to where they are from)~ I have not been able to trace her but my great grandfather her son was my mother's grandfather and his passport for WW1 says Jewish, and when I was young I just felt she was me ~ that she and I carried a mystical connection ~ I do think ancestors are aspects of oneself because of the frequency they have is a match ~ Anna Smith must have moved to USA and left an aspect of herself in the DNA and you have picked it up and isn't it wonderful to walk on her beloved Scotland ~ like my Elizabeth ~ there was a great survival need to leave/escape the country of birth but she is going to be so delighted you have managed on her behalf to love her place of birth and see it and experience it. All her homesickness and longing of what could have been had she stayed ~ you will breathe back into the city of her birth. You will complete her. You will love Edinburgh and I find Scotland has warm hearted people and friendly. Ancestry DNA says I am 34% Scottish and I love it there. The weather has heated up and so expect 25C -22C and a small chance of rain each day. Carlton Hill will give you a breath taking view of Edinburgh. Light a candle for Anna Smith and make her laugh. Much love xxx
O how EXCITING for you! I LOVE your question, 'What still breathes here!' I/we can use this question anywhere we arrive? Have you asked for a letter from Grandma Anna, Cheryl? Curious here! Wishing you an absolutely FANTASTIC and NOURISHING journey!!
Dan Fogelberg wrote “Blessed the traveler who journeys the length of the light”…I think this journey to Scotland is part of your light, ..May the winds be in your favor, Godspeed
What a wonderful preamble to your amble. Where will you be returning to for the very first time?
Have a wonderful Journey Cheryl💜😇💖☯️💗☮️💞
I’m excited for you to have this journey. New experiences, new remembrances, and certainly new perspective await you. I’m looking forward to hearing about all of it! ❤️
Welcome home Cheryl ❤️
Cheryl,
May this journey meet you with clarity, tenderness and quiet truth.
Nancy and “Ralf”
Cheryl, another exquisite piece that takes us along on a hypnotic journey.
Go for it! XO XO XO
How lovely. I have Scottish (including Pictish) and Irish ancestry, and have been several times to Ireland and Scotland, so your article really has me stirred up with longing to go. I have found that, while itineraries are useful to see sacred sites, booking my time solid is a miserable experience. Then I don't get to follow the intriguing trail down a small cobbled street or to stop and talk to a donkey then feed that little beggar carrots. Leisure time is an absolute must for having the leeway to visit with a native who shares other places to see off the beaten path. May I recommend Callanish, an amazing stone circle like no other I've ever seen? You will have to take a catamaran to the Isle of Lewis to visit, but well worth it. And fairly close to Edinburg is Dunino Den, a magical site with an ancient face carved on the side of the crag that includes an area thought to be for worship. Oh my goodness! I'm excited for you. Have a fabulous time. If you are going by yourself, don't worry. The Scots will assist you!
Cheryl, this is such a beautiful threshold piece.
I love that you are going to Scotland not as someone demanding answers, but as a pilgrim — curious, humble, open, and willing to be changed. There is something so moving about returning to ancestral ground with no need to prove belonging, only a desire to listen.
“What still breathes here?” feels like the perfect question to carry.
May Scotland meet you in grandeur, yes, but also in tenderness, shared weather, laughter, mist, marmalade, and all the ordinary holy moments that know how to find a willing heart.
I can’t wait to hear what speaks.
Happy travels Cheryl! May your soul remember what you are ready to know.
Cheryl I have a great great grandmother who the mythic story told in the family tree was Jewish and fled Poland to England way back in the mid 1800s and her name was Elizabeth Swain (doesn't sound Polish but I know a lot of immigrants change their names to avoid detection as to where they are from)~ I have not been able to trace her but my great grandfather her son was my mother's grandfather and his passport for WW1 says Jewish, and when I was young I just felt she was me ~ that she and I carried a mystical connection ~ I do think ancestors are aspects of oneself because of the frequency they have is a match ~ Anna Smith must have moved to USA and left an aspect of herself in the DNA and you have picked it up and isn't it wonderful to walk on her beloved Scotland ~ like my Elizabeth ~ there was a great survival need to leave/escape the country of birth but she is going to be so delighted you have managed on her behalf to love her place of birth and see it and experience it. All her homesickness and longing of what could have been had she stayed ~ you will breathe back into the city of her birth. You will complete her. You will love Edinburgh and I find Scotland has warm hearted people and friendly. Ancestry DNA says I am 34% Scottish and I love it there. The weather has heated up and so expect 25C -22C and a small chance of rain each day. Carlton Hill will give you a breath taking view of Edinburgh. Light a candle for Anna Smith and make her laugh. Much love xxx
Enjoy enjoy enjoy
Safe travels, Cheryl!
O how EXCITING for you! I LOVE your question, 'What still breathes here!' I/we can use this question anywhere we arrive? Have you asked for a letter from Grandma Anna, Cheryl? Curious here! Wishing you an absolutely FANTASTIC and NOURISHING journey!!
Dan Fogelberg wrote “Blessed the traveler who journeys the length of the light”…I think this journey to Scotland is part of your light, ..May the winds be in your favor, Godspeed
Thank you for sharing that Cheryl. Wishing you a Beautiful and Nourishing journey.