There was a beautiful article written by Eric Weiner in the travel section of the Sunday NY Times today; Where Heaven and Earth Come Closer. The opening paragraph reads:
“Travel, like life, is best understood backward but must be experienced forward, to paraphrase Kierkegaard. After decades of wandering, only now does a pattern emerge. I’m drawn to places that beguile and inspire, sedate and stir, places where, for a few blissful moments I can loosen my death grip on life, and can breathe again. It turns out these destinations have a name: thin place.”
According to the author the term a thin place may have Celtic origins; “Heaven and earth, the Celtic saying goes, are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even shorter.” It is a gloriously well written piece and although spiritual in nature, some of the ‘thin places’ described are not what you might expect. I encourage you to follow the link and read it all the way through; it is charming, lively and just might make your day.
PS: Upon reflection, I would like to add a post script. I believe that access to the ‘thin place’ is more a state of mind than a matter of place. Few of us have the means or ability to travel the world, but if we allow ourselves to simply see, feel and be; to quiet the chatter in our heads and view the world in the raw, uncluttered way that a child does, we will realize that the thin places are in fact all about us.
life and breath: outliving lung cancer 