the greatest thing you'll ever learn...

-The love of place. I have a hard time articulating exactly what "it" is that I love about Belfast. It's moments like today when I look out at the stormy sky and dark green hills and chimneys, it's St. George's Market where several stall holders now greet me each week, it's the cosyness of a cup of tea with raindrops on the window, it's the creativity in music found in this wee part of the world, it's planting flowers in rich soil without a care about watering because I know nature will take care of it and it's so much more than these things combined. Many places I've lived and grown up in I feel great love for, but this love is mostly associated with people who I love there. Here, I feel this deep love that's not associated with people in particular (although there are of course people I love here). I love the land, the earth, the place itself. Something about it has drawn me back again. I had to say goodbye to Liz today, someone who's become a great friend to me during her year in Belfast. As I sat at the bus stop, looking at the sky, cars and hills, I thought "What if I had to say goodbye to this place soon?" The thought made my heart ache, and so I'm going to spend whatever time I have left here loving this place and letting it love me back.

-A two-hour Skype chat with the fabulous Jen. She's always a source of inspiration, comfort, identity and laughter for me, and it was really refreshing to reconnect. The two hours felt like about twenty minutes.

-Sitting in a room with various people involved in peacemaking here in various ways, listening as each person gave their take on conflict here and the future of Northern Ireland. It was convicting, inspiring, energizing and humbling to be in such great company.