My first view of Stonehenge. 2012
I was told not to expect much. “It’s a tourist trap, and I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.” Said Darling Companion. But I wanted to see it for myself. As we paid our entry fee, and entered the tunnel that goes beneath the highway that runs right next to it I took a deep breath. I wanted to meet Stonehenge on it’s own terms. I didn’t want to bring any preconceived notions, or my own needs into this space. I wanted to simply let this ancient space speak to me in it’s own way. As I ascended the stairs into the cloudy daylight I got my first look at this iconic monument. My heart sped, and I stilled. In the same moment I was giddy, joyous and solemn. I have lain on my back on the open prairie and played with millions of stars on my open palms. I have seen the northern lights crackle into being above an arctic landscape. I’ve stood in simple wooden churches in the Carpathian mountains, and grand cathedrals in the capitals of Europe. And while I could get a sense of the sacred in each of these places, it was here, for one brief moment I felt a connection with all that had come before me, and all that would follow me. It hollowed me, and in that empty space was the silence and the sound of millenia. It certainly trapped *this* tourist.
Posted by ruthannkarnowski | Filed under Daily Prompts, Travel
