DAY 35: Lighthouses

I have had a fascination with lighthouses which really started in 1997. I've spent a fair amount of time visiting and photographing them as a consequence. In 1997, I had the chance to be at Land's End, the tippiest southern tip of England - it was a very emotionally raw and charged time for me. I stayed in Marazion for a couple of nights and I have to say, all other things aside, that it is such a pretty quaint seaside town, filled to the brim with salty piratey romance and a taste of a bygone era where sailors pulled in and spent the night at The Ferry Boat Inn, perhaps.

Sadly, I didn't get to see the Lands End Lighthouse - didn't even know it was there. Funny, I flew thousands of miles and missed it and it IS a gorgeous one to boot.

Anyway, this love of lighthouses was born from that trip to the UK. It was given life because of my need to be alone, to stand on the edge of my cliff and face the rugged storms and lashing winds that my life was weathering at that very moment. Dramatic? I know.

Lighthouses came to symbolise to me, that no matter what my choices are in life, right or wrong, I can face the consequences alone. I am strong and resilient as a lighthouse is. I can stand on my own two feet and weather all that life can thrash at my feet. I can provide shelter and solace not only to others in need but also to myself as well.

They also remind me that I am very comfortable in my own company, when I can skate around the cornices of my mind and explore all the thoughts and inquisitions that blow in and out of the windows of my soul.

Over the years, the affiliation I have with lighthouses has grown and, for some inexplicable reason, I am most calm and centred around them.

Grant proposed to me at a very romantic lighthouse - Cape Otway Lighthouse - and I still find that so romantic and charming. It is tucked away on a cliff, far away from the madding crowds, a beacon of safety.....and it was there, when we were tucked away, just the two of us that he asked me to make a life with him.

Prior to that and since that, we've made it a 'thing' to visit as many lighthouses as we can. I suspect they have come to mean something to Grant as much as they mean to me.

I am happiest near or in a lighthouse. One of my heart's desires is to own one so that I can have my own private retreat. I know a few have come up for private sale around Australia and although it's never been the right time and place for me to consider it, that day will come to fruition. 

Even writing about this has left me with an unwitting smile on my face. Lighthouses are my peace and serenity.

The rocky ledge runs far into the sea,
and on its outer point, some miles away,
the lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,
A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.

Even at this distance I can see the tides,
Upheaving, break unheard along its base,
A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides
in the white tip and tremor of the face.

And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright,
through the deep purple of the twilight air,
Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light,
with strange, unearthly splendor in the glare!

Excerpt from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - The Lighthouse