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Follow the light.....



I am at my favourite place on Earth. Fingal Headland. I have been here many, many times before, but today is different. I am the only one here. There is something very special about this place. The magnificent view is one thing of course, but there is also a feeling here of majesty and serenity. The ocean pounds upon the rocks below and surges through the Giants Causeway, a passage of giant prehistoric black pillars of lava, remnants of an extinct volcano.  The sea a kaleidoscope of greens and blues and iridescent mermaid tails come to mind. Sometimes it is so windy here that one struggles to stand, but today there is but a soft breeze and I am here alone, just me and the light.
The light that stands is Fingal Headland Lighthouse, built in 1878. I can't tell you how many photos I have of this structure. Too many...not enough.  I am fascinated with lighthouses, their purpose, their history, the stories they must have, the weather they have endured, as they stand silently bearing witness to all that lays beneath them.
Today, most lighthouses are electric and no longer require the loving care of a keeper. But back when.....what a life that must have been. Isolated, rugged, windswept and salt etched. I can feel the keepers spirit here, the spirit of endurance. How passionate those keepers must have been, those that stood the test of time, those that lasted.
When standing on the outcrop of rocks, under the watchful gaze of the curvaceous white painted sandstone, I feel invincible, I feel empowered. Strengthened and purposeful. What makes me feel this way, the lighthouse, the keepers spirit, the ocean, or the land itself?
Will other lighthouses evoke this response from me? I wish to journey through our land to stand at the base of every lighthouse, in all weather, night and day and simply embody the energy of each place. This is something I am compelled to do and I am not completely sure why. I'm sure there is a reason, maybe to take too many photos, or to write about my experiences and feelings at each one, or just for the sheer joy of it and to capture that wonderful feeling of empowerment. Whatever it may be, the call grows stronger every day.
The keepers call me. The wind calls me. The ocean calls me. The lights guide me.




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