Perfect Places

lets explore

I was a highly imaginative child. I would spend hours upon hours by myself, creating these beautiful fantasy worlds to play in, able to completely immerse myself in a way that feels impossible now. Sure I daydream, I imagine things I’m looking forward to, or let my mind wander back and relive a particularly lovely day or experience. Sometimes I have a moment I fixate on, maybe with a new crush or an old lover, that can replay at a glacial pace over and over again behind my glazed eyes. But I don’t use my imagination for play anymore. Often it feels like that joy is reserved for children, which is completely false. We just need to remember how to do it. 

I’ve been practicing meditation, even though I’ve always had a hard time with that word, (probably because it was advertised to me as a solution for my mental health issues rather than the fun exercise it can be.) I lay down in my bed, put on some music, and take myself to my perfect places. Join me today as I travel somewhere special to me, somewhere I’ve been going since I was a little girl.

Marstrand is an island/town off the west coast of Sweden, known as the sailing capital. It’s about a 25 minute drive to the port from my Mormor’s house in Tjuvkil, and then you take a small ferry across the water. None of that matters right now though, that's not how we’re getting there. Our first stop is Bergs, a cafe and bakery right on the water. Home of the best princess cake of all time. 

I like to stay here a while. In real life it can be quite crowded, especially on a nice sunny day, but in my head it’s just me. Maybe some loved ones, too. My beautiful Mormor, with whom these places are infinitely more special. My mom, who always glows a little more when she’s in her home country.

My favorite smile in the whole world.

Next we start to venture around the island, which is the only hike I have ever enjoyed. Walking past the beach into the forest, emerging on a grey rock bed stretching farther than expected. You can hear the waves, sometimes crashing hard and sometimes lapping oh so soft onto the cliffside. I always feel so drawn to the edge. 

The best part of fantasy is that I am inherently safe, so I can literally do whatever I want. Danger or consequence need not be considered. So it is at this point that I start sprinting. Jumping for joy, leaping over chasms, flying to the top. I want to see as far as I can. I want to feel the wind almost knock me over. I want to somersault. I feel myself getting lighter and lighter, letting the breeze carry me to my very favorite spot.

See that little lighthouse in the distance? That is my church, my temple, my most cherished place of worship. In summers past I have brought many important people to this spot, but the best way to be there is by myself. That's when I find it easiest to talk to her. Aphrodite. I get close enough to the roaring ocean to feel the salty mist on my lips. This is how I find her. Once I feel her slide into and out of me, floating all around, this is when the floodgates open. 

I tell her everything. Sometimes I don’t even have to, we just sit in silence. She knows what I was gonna say anyways. I stay and pray a while. When it’s time for me to go, she kisses me softly, tucks a flower behind my ear, and vanishes into the salt water spraying gently. From here I might hike to the nude beach, bask in the sun and let my body be one with the earth beneath me. Or I might go back to the main town and get a coffee. Or maybe I dive headfirst into the deep blue and let myself be enveloped and sucked in, sit with her on the ocean floor, and watch the bubbles rise. Just to give you some ideas. 

Safe travels xoxo.