The Purest Air

Never have I loved a breath more, none comparably so pure as the first inhale after stepping onto the earth after a flight from Sydney, Australia, landing in Hobart, Tasmania.

The purest air I ever breathed, marvelous fresh air that when inhaled made me automatically think, “This is surely what the purest, lightest, freshest, lung satisfying, most generous inhalation of the absolute finest air must be like in Heaven!” Never have I loved a breath more, none comparably so pure!

The people of Tasmania, so delightful, so kind, so helpful, so generous with their time.  I watched the locals in new found astonishment as the love they all had for the pristine upkeep of their communities was so obvious.  To watch as a man scrapped gum off the sidewalks, and not a trace of litter to be seen.  To see waterwheels working to produce fresh drinking water, a clock factory displaying wares and ticking along gaily to the perfection in the air.  Cafes opened up, chairs flooding the sidewalks, with bright umbrellas lazily shading the dishes of gourmet food being served to laughing diners.

Street markets lined with tables, covered with numerous assortments of wares to be sold to the congregating onlookers.  The ghost walks and stories told in the basement of the old historical building my dearest friend, Sarah, and I lodged in.  The generous “Hello,” greeting us around every corner.  The fresh seafood from the restaurants teaming with life around the banks of the harbor.  Oh, it felt so good to be alive!  To discover the beauty of a place far, far from my hometown in Idaho.

I stood in this very spot with Sarah, years ago. The glorious Wineglass Bay Lookout in Tasmania, overlooking one of the World’s top 10 beaches.  The crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches, make it one of Tasmania’s most celebrated, most photogenic locations.  This was a moment in time when I felt so overcome by pure, magnificent beauty, that my breath was taken away!  In that moment in time, a photographic image so spectacular, so magical,  permanently filled my memory!

Through our travels along winding roads, came the never ending picturesque beauty of colorful lavender fields, miles upon miles of this lush beauty.  Lavender, the color of royalty, and pink, the color of youth.  Lavender is femininity all grown up.  It represents refinement, grace, and elegance.  Lavender holds a sacred place in nature, and with its violet flowers is often considered the most delicate and precious.  The fragrance of tranquility flooding the air with perfect delight for every passerby!  The luminous Mount Arthur, off in the distance, the sun slipping away to bring rest to the day.

The phenomenal wonder of discovering the dramatic Cradle Mountain, in Tasmania, for the first time, was magnificent. Sarah and I took the incredible two-hour boardwalk stroll around the lake in the drenching rain, laughing with glee, our face dripping with glistening rain drops, and followed by a friendly waddling wombat. We were walking in clouds as the fog settled around us and once lifted, we were welcomed by yet another stunning perfection of God’s masterpiece.  Ancient rain forests and alpine heaths, one of the state’s most special places, where ancient pines fringe glacial lakes, and icy streams cascade down rugged mountains.

We are consumed with the constancy of breathing.  Shallow breaths, labored breaths, quick paced breaths, long slow sleeping breaths, watching a newborn gasp for their first breath of air.  Shallow breaths, holding the breath, sniffled breaths of a toddler injured at play.  A breath through pursed lips, or deep through the nostrils.  That breath of a loved one as their lungs fill up for the very last time, and slowly empty out, expelling earth, and then, that glorious breath of entering heavens gates, breathing in eternity.  That feeling I so closely experienced on my first trip to Tasmania.

So too, that God-gifted breath, so vital to life, so instructive, gauging our daily mix of feelings and emotions, fears and anxieties, joys and delights, concerns and lingering thoughts. Life is weighed in the balances of the beautiful breath. I have learned so much through my travels around the world.  Finding that the most spectacular moments in time are those captured in the mind, inhaling and exhaling the beauty flooding the expanse in that particular moment.  I hope you enjoyed the breathtaking perfection of the pictures I posted, sharing with you a few of my favorite places on earth.