08 September 2017





"Our planet is not fragile at its own time scale, and we, pitiful latecomers in the last microsecond of our planetary year, are stewards of nothing in the long run."
                                                                                                                                                                                 Stephen Jay Gould

We took a break and packed the bicycles in the car and drove west to the flat land to look out at the sea. It was reassuring. On very sunny days, we cycled on top of the dikes and on bumpy cobble-stone streets through villages where every front window is washed and sparkling. A clean front window without curtains, my Dutch friends explain to me,  is a message to the world that we have nothing to hide, that our souls are pure.
We watched the sun set every evening in absolute perfection, and we felt very small and insignificant.

We ate stroopwafels sitting on the jetty with out feet dangling, watching the sailboats. I forgot to put on sunscreen. I forgot the lab report that was waiting for me on the kitchen table back home. 


7 comments:

37paddington said...

I love the symbolism of the sparkling front windows. We need pure hearts now.

Ms. Moon said...

An author and marine biologist whom I love, Jack Rudloe, once wrote that nature can heal what nature causes.
The man-made damage? Not so much.
Be well, sweet Sabine. Be well.

molly said...

Like that about the bare, sparkling front windows. What would they surmise about the lace curtained Irish windows I wonder. A smokescreen maybe?
Your holiday itself sounds clean and spare and sparkling - medicine for the soul.

Steve Reed said...

I remember how clean the windows were in the Pennsylvania Dutch towns that I used to drive through with my family when I was little. They certainly put ours to shame!

Anonymous said...

I love the peace of this post. The reminder that we are on our one and only planet and how beautiful it is. Thank you for the Stephan Jay Gould quote. I will remember that.

Colette said...

I picked up some individually wrapped stroopwafels for sale in the ethnic section of my grocery store the other day. Probably the same day you wrote this. I picked it up, read the ingredients, and wondered how it would taste. Now I wish I had purchased it. Next time. I am, however, quite happy to hear you are having some in a beautiful place.

am said...

Wonderful to know that you and R spent time at the sea. The air so clear. The water sparkling in the sunlight. The vast sky. Thank you for sharing this with us.