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Category:
Memoir
Publisher: Eventispress
ISBN-10: 0993260810
Type: Fiction
Pages: 184
Copyright: 20th April 2017
ISBN-13: 9780993260810
Price: $3.88 (eBook)
As Diana walked along the Fife Coastal Path she had conversations with some fascinating characters from history ~ experiences both poignant and life changing.
Diana walked along the Fife Coastal Path from North Queensferry - beneath the famous Forth Rail Bridge - to St Andrews. Whilst on her way she stepped in the footprints of a multitude of pilgrims and famous people through the ages, but also in those of ordinary folks of Fife, from St Margaret in Dunfermline to the real Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk, in Lower Largo.
Diana was enamoured by her beautiful surroundings along these healing paths. As she paused to have a 'wee blether' with those she 'met,' she learnt a new way of looking at her world, finding values which gave her a blueprint for the next stage in her life and she was fortunate to discover a sense of peace.
The further Diana travelled the more she became absorbed in the history of Fife and her affinity for the area grew.
As you read on you may find yourself 'walking beside Diana.' Her experiences might help you with some of the challenges you face in your own life or they may inspire you to visit the region of Fife and have adventures of your own.
Excerpt
It wasn’t a very promising morning. Dark grey rain or maybe snow filled clouds were drifting at speed overhead from the west and not one soul had ventured out, as far as I could see. I donned on my dark cerise pink gloves and woolly hat, thick socks and wellington boots and headed towards the harbour with the excuse that I had a bag of recycling stuff to put in the large bin there.
Oh wonderful sun!!! From the vantage point of the harbour car-park I glimpsed the sunrise. It was in moments like those that I realised why the ancients and many moderns today worship the sun. Through the cool wind I could feel her warmth from across the Forth above Edinburgh, highlighting the island of Inchkeith and sending reflective rays of cheerfulness rippling over the waves towards me. I stood perfectly still for several minutes, lifting my face to her and smiled. It was so good.
Revitalised, I turned and strolled down to the beach. Now in shadow I was quickly engulfed by the piercing wind-chill factor. Was Burntisland rain-swept ahead of me? She was certainly beneath the gloom. Undeterred, I strode out to the water’s edge and, leaving the harbour’s protection, I was rewarded ten-fold as the sun streamed towards me once more. Mesmerised, I paddled for a while with my back to the wind. Alone, yet content.
I didn’t meet a stranger from past times today and yet fortune fell my way to be greeted by the Sun, who from the beginning of time on earth has been life-giving, full of light. The message she passed on to me was,
‘If you take a few steps beyond your comfort zone you will be rewarded intensely.’
Historians tell us that in a tiny place called Dunino, three miles from St Andrews,Fife, a stone circle once stood to worship the Celtic Sun God Bel. In the graveyard close by, there is a ninth century rectangular stone, on which is carved a sundial. This is believed to be either an early Christian symbol or a Druid’s altar.
Ode to the Sun
Your rays welcome the new day
Yellowy orange seeping into the grey horizon.
A water-colour blot on canvas, ever increasing
until
Your winter sunshine dispels the gloom
Your reflection echoing your warmth,
Reaching across the sea
Life giving, spirit lifting and free.
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