This evening, I was once again drawn to my balcony camera in hand to capture another beautiful sunset overlooking Georgia Strait and Vancouver Island. When I returned from Uganda in 2010, I walked every street in my sister’s neighbourhood, Kerrisdale, looking for a place to call home. The moment I walked into this apartment and beheld the sweeping southwest views I knew I’d found it.
The view looked something like this that clear, summer day.
It’s very nourishing to look out the windows at the trees, water and islands beyond. The space outside creates space inside. When I’m working at the computer on my treadmill desk, I gaze out for inspiration. Ever since I moved in, I’ve taken photos from the balcony, almost always of sunsets.
I’ve always deeply appreciated a view. And I realize that this comes from a very privileged vantage point, from a place of comfort and security that billions on the planet can only dream of.
When I lived on Quadra Island, my place had three-quarters of a mile of oceanfront to inhale every morning. When we built our home in Point Grey, we had a 180-degree view of the water and the mountains. Last night, I was googling and discovered this City of Vancouver archival photo taken by H.L. Corey from our Point Grey address at 5th and Trimble in the 1940s.
By the end of this month, I’ll be moving out of this apartment and into Vancouver Cohousing. I’ve always said that if I can’t have a view, I’d like to live in a courtyard, which is what I’ll have in the new place. As well, only a few feet from my unit’s front door is a pretty decent mountain view that looks like this on a very good day.
Views are everywhere. Today when I left a lovely Vancouver Cohousing brunch hosted by one of our members in the Science World area, I saw this juxtaposition of natural and manmade wonders.
