“The world is full of magical things patiently waiting on our senses to become sharper.”

-W. B .Yeats

 

“What makes your life feel worthwhile?” she asked. “Travel, exploration, intense learning, love,” I answered. “What about you?”, I asked. “The sense of freedom, appreciating and knowing people and places which are different. It makes me feel alive at a different level,” she answered.

 

We planned a trip. We chose Scotland with its rich history, gritty culture and lifestyle, stunning landscapes, ancient buildings, connection to the UK, and several complex influences on their culture. Scotland awoke all our senses. Fall was arriving in late August at that northern latitude with beautiful rainstorms, changing colors and pastoral landscapes.

 

When the Romans abandoned their expansionist (“invasion”) plans for “Caledonia” around 110 AD, it was partially because the Scots ruthlessly resisted, and ultimately pushed them all the way back to the border of modern-day England along Roman Emperor Hadrian’s Wall. Within their 5000-year heritage, they had determined their own sense of nation, and it included independence from outside interlopers, and resisted invaders:  Vikings, Romans, Saxons, Britons, others. Who were they? We wanted to know.

 

They were Gaels. Gaelic culture had spread east from Ireland (and northwest from Turkey) with its own language, and their remnant stone circles predate Stonehenge by at least 5000 years. Initially a Paleo-Neolithic people, hunter gatherers, living in tribal conflict fused with cooperation with each other, Gaelic culture remains strong – and its language is still spoken today throughout parts of Scotland. Stone circles, with astronomical meaning to the ancients, can be seen as they once were.

 

They were migrants, both immigrants and emigrants. Scotland was an early melting pot visited by those many who came and went as the availability of food and resources allowed. Today, as a multicultural society, the influences of the past are still felt.

 

They were tribal, a feudal society with kings,chieftains, clans. Today they benefit from being part of the UK, although it is obvious when discussions happen over a “wee dram,” they steadfastly guard their core value: independence. They differ with the UK in their view of modern-day issues such as Brexit. They have economic assets such as wind power and offshore oil. They have a stunning environment, happy and hearty people, and a multi-billion export business – Whiskey, made with some of the purest water remaining on our planet. We felt free to explore, we learned many things, and we would go back.