I live in one of the most expensive cities to live in the world. And this is something people here like to brag about. Friends in my hometown don’t understand why I live here and continue to pay so much for everything. People in other cities think it’s beautiful here but opt to live somewhere less expensive.
It’s true that there are plenty of restaurants, attractions, and shops to check out, but the real reason I can’t imagine myself living anywhere else (apart from a more secluded version of what I love about it here – maybe Bowen Island): mountains and water.
Nobody has any desire to leave. You ask them, “What is it again that you love so much about Seattle (Vancouver)?” and they answer, “We have everything. The mountains and the water.” – Maria Semple (from Where’d You Go Bernadette)
The Rapture of Being Alive
Yesterday, while eating lunch at work and reading from “Breaking Open” by Elizabeth Lesser I came across this quote:
People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life, I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive. . .so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. – Joseph Campbell
Definition of rapture
- 1: an expression or manifestation of ecstasy or passion
- 2a : a state or experience of being carried away by overwhelming emotion b : a mystical experience in which the spirit is exalted to a knowledge of divine things
I returned to work and told my co-workers that I’d gone to the park/waterfront across the street. The general response was that if they did the same they wouldn’t want to come back. I had been thinking about that during my walk. I told them:
Being in nature and getting away for a bit makes it so much easier to be at work.
When I was in the park I breathed in the sweet smell of cedar trees, listened to and watched leaves moving in the wind, and watched the water sparkle in the sunlight. Dogs ran past me, followed by their owners (or visa versa), sailboats sailed, and birds dipped in and out of the water.
It’s often these little moments that remind me why I love living in Vancouver so much and how lucky I am to do so. Maybe it’s a lifelong journey – appreciating the city I live in.
