Arriving in Iona

The next morning, we left Oban, 

heading North on a ferry to Craignure, 

passing Duart castle,

and a gorgeous lighthouse
(Lismore Light in Kilpatrick, Scotland)

while being enveloped in 50 shades of grey!

A sure indication of exactly how much my work has impacted 

my life and viewpoint

(as if I needed reminders)

came while friends and I were discussing 

the beauty and remoteness of the castle.

Their first thoughts were on the need to band

together in the face of enemies from all directions

 (roving, warring clans, Vikings etc);

mine, I sheepishly admitted,

was on how much abuse, domestic violence 

and incest must have gone on inside those walls!

Trust me, 

from the expressions on their faces,

I knew

not one of them had come close

to sharing that thought!

One of them even gently remarked,

"No wonder you need a vacation".

She didn't know the half of it!

I guess that's why the road signage 

in Scotland

 had such special appeal to me...

I know,

sounds crazy,

but when I saw this

it felt like a message to myself -

to allow this time away to be
an opportunity to let things pass -
to let them go -
to leave the world I know behind
and experience a different reality.

My all time favorite sign -
one which would become the focal point of many journal entries -
and, I suspect many more now that I'm back,

was this one -

Obviously, for the one lane streets

that compromised much of the Scots roadways

we were traveling, 

this makes perfect sense.

But, on a deeper level,

I thought of how little I allow myself to be 'overtaken',

to lose control,

to be overwhelmed - 

by anything other than 

despair and sadness.

With these thoughts,

and more,

cavorting in my head, 

it's no wonder that by the time we reached

our next docking point

(the northern most tip of the Isle of Mull),

I was delighted that both the weather

and 

topography

had

changed drastically!

Suddenly, it was sunny

with turquoise waters 

and our first sighting of Iona

only a short ferry ride away

 across the sound.

The Abbey is on the far right.

Our hotel (St Columba) 

is the largest white building, top left)

and the highest peak on the island

behind them both is Dun I

(pronounced Dun E)

which I would climb later that week -

much to my surprise and delight!

My room had a gorgeous painting

which perfectly set the tone

and a view

which perfectly framed 

my vision

(of the Bishops House and back across the sound to Fionnphort,

on the Isle of Mull)

I was ready for the week to unfold -

and to explore the island!