Portland where we discovered sweet little book stores, a lovely art museum and delightful restaurants. The other was a trip to Portland Head Lighthouse!
The minute the lighthouse came into view, I could feel the excitement growing in my body. There it stood, majestically, on a peak that overlooked the ocean in all directions for as far as the eye could see. It had a few smaller out buildings around it, but it was the lighthouse itself that took my breath away. When we got out of the car I’m afraid I actually left my poor sister in my dust as I hustled up the path to finally meet my dream up close and personal. Standing at the base of the tower, I placed my hands on the cement wall and closed my eyes. I stood very still and felt my body begin to acclimate to the movement of waves crashing around us. Then I felt what I would swear was the heartbeat of the lighthouse. I felt all of its history, the love and tears of the people who had lived there, and the gratitude of the people whose lives had been saved by this beacon on the hill.
We took a tour of the little museum that housed some of the original artifacts and instruments from the lighthouse and the lighthouse keepers’ home. We were taken on a virtual visit through a day in the life of a lighthouse keeper. Afterwards we were free to walk around and explore on our own. I found a bench to sit down on and just looked, not only with my eyes, but with my heart as well. The lighthouse, I thought, may look like a tall, study, immovable symbol of safety, but when I looked at it with my heart, I understood that it was more about movement: the movement of the waves, the movement of the light sweeping through the night, and the movement of the souls whose spirits flowed through it. As I sat there I could feel my body relax, my muscles loosen and a sense of peace settle over me. From out of nowhere came the idea that this almost reminded me of what it felt like when I was doing my yoga practice. My body moved amiably like the waves in the ocean on a calm day, and my mind was at peace. My eyes saw everything in greater clarity and my vision penetrated the material world into my inner world. When my practice was done, I felt strong, and secure, safe in my body just like the lighthouse keeper and their family felt safe and secure within the walls of this beautiful structure.
It has been years since that trip. I have a little replica of Portland Head sitting on a shelf next to my writing desk. My sister and I are still holding each other to a promise we made of taking another vacation together some day. I told her it didn’t matter to me where we went as long as our destination contained two things: plenty of beach and a lighthouse to remind me to always, always, follow the movement of my inner light.