Free and Alive

I feel so alive.

I don’t really know how to describe this weekend because it’s been a whirlwind of one breathtaking sight after another. You’d think by this point, I’d be numb because I’d already seen so much and wouldn’t find the sights as beautiful as they were when I first arrived in Ireland, but I almost feel like as my time here draws to a close, my appreciation and awe have grown deeper. I’m genuinely trying to make the most of these last several days.

I wanted to bottle up this Northern Ireland weekend trip, especially Saturday night after dinner, so I could relive it over and over and over again: the taste and smell of salt in the air, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks and the wind howling, the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair and of raindrops hitting my face and of my lungs expanding as I released a scream over the edge of the cliff, the sight of all this beautifully rugged, wild terrain taking my breath away… I don’t know how to describe that experience because nothing I say will ever do it justice. Talking under the dark night sky about everything: religion, the effects of technology, our emotions, our hopes and dreams and fears and desires… Laying on the grass, remembering that I am a mere, microscopic speck in this huge, huge world… Standing on the edge of the cliff at night, overlooking the Giant’s Causeway and screaming out as loud as I could, releasing emotions that I had pent up for months… I felt connected to nature and its Creator. I felt so free and alive. It was one of those moments that I seriously wished could last forever.

One week left. Seven days to finish our report, to go back to the places we want to go back to, to create new memories, to complete the last several items left on our bucket lists, to say goodbye. Seven days is a long time, and now that I’ve gone on this weekend trip, I feel completely reinvigorated and ready to take on this week with everything I have.