Have you ever felt like you live in a place where you don't belong? Surely, who doesn't. Everyone around you speaks a language you don't understand. Living their life the way you don't want to live it. And you are condemned for your attitude?
But how do I imagine my perfect place? Where do I think I belong? Well, they say your home is where your heart is. And I left my heart in Scotland four years ago. Of course, you could say it's just a holiday crush. But it's not. Every single day when I walked through Scotland, I felt like I was where I belonged.
I didn't have that feeling in Ireland, or when I walked through the Lake District. It's a unique feeling that I only get in Scotland. Only by walking in Scotland can I connect with myself and develop personally. I imagine how I will have a place to retreat to. A little cottage by a loch. Small, dark. Built of the small cobbles that are so typical of England, or maybe wood? There will be a room with one or two armchairs in front of a fireplace. The smell of burning firewood will hit your nose as soon as you step through the door. A kitchen with a counter island will be in the other corner of the room. All the furniture will be old and simple. A small wooden staircase will lead to a small bedroom, where there will be a bed with millions (well maybe not millions) of pillows. There will be a window looking into the deep forest behind the house. If you leave the house early in the morning, you will see the mist dancing between the trees and hear the drops of the constant rain falling softly. It is so quiet and the only thing you hear is the trickle of the rain and the water of the loch gliding gently to the shore. The smell of resin and needles, leaves and moss will fill your nostrils. And in front of the house there is a footbridge that leads out onto the loch, but maybe not. You don't have to overdo it. This is how I imagine my retreat in the Scottish Highlands.
I have dreamed this dream many times. In my sleep and while I was walking my kilometres. I want to live a modest life. After all I've been through so far, I think I've earned it. Peace and quiet. Hearing the rain fall and the drops of moisture gently settling on my hair and making it curl.
Dreams that you dream can either be left as such, or you can take the initiative and make them come true. In life, the really good things are never given to you. If you want something extraordinary to happen, you have to do something extraordinary.