Sielmaisema – your soul landscape, the landscape that “hits you in the center of your chest; the one you always carry with you; the one the immediately feels like home”

I have a few soul landscapes but as I write this on a plane heading east, the one that is in my mind’s eye is the view the moment we crest the hill out of Beaver Valley and look over Georgian Bay and my home town below.

I only get home once a year now but even when I went home every weekend to spend time with my Gran I would experience sielmaisema as I came over the hill. Each season holds its own special scene – the huge expanse of snow and ice in the winter, the lush greenery of spring, the sparkling blue waters of summer and my favourite multi-colour explosion of leaves in the fall.

In about 6 hours from the time I write this, the Toad and I will crest that hill and together will take a big deep breath and remark how great it is to be home.