Amor Fati (Love Your Fate)

“Fate is inexorable, fate is immovable” – popularized by Bernard Cornwell

Some mornings I wake up dreaming of abalone shells, their ocean blue outer skin revealing eternity within, there once was so many, my younger self could pick one up off any West Coast beach and bring it home. Its shimmering iridescence inside evoking childhood summer holidays, a magical Harry Potter-like talisman capable of taking me back to those sandy shores each time I held one in my hand. They can only be found in galleries and museums now, creating a longing within for the ones I let go…

In this place and time, I can honestly say, I love my fate. There are people, places and a more youthful energy that I miss but I’m forever grateful to have been able to collect those rare shells, remember a warm Barcelona night sitting in the soft dusk anticipating a delicious meal and playing in what us kids coined, the haunted soccer field in the Black Forest of West Germany, the scent of lemon trees in Cyprus another layer of memory to contemplate. An unwinding fate that has led to this moment in time, an Arabic language rising and falling nearby as I sit writing at an outside table at our corner coffee bar, with a refreshing ice chocolate, breathing in summer, thankful for the occasional soft breeze.

Each generation finds their own magical touchstones and talismans to mark their fates, they come in many forms – a beloved book, a soaring summer anthem or the still point between lakeshore and forest, free will and choice their constant companions. Sometimes, it’s hard to love our fate if we aren’t feeling well, if we’ve suffered a loss so terrible we think we might not survive, some of us may not have shelter or enough food to eat, we may even have had to leave our homelands.

In this ebb and flow that informs our unique lives, I hope we can all live lives of meaning in between words, the notes of exquisite music and nature’s healing touch. Fate is ever-changing, it unfolds, full of surprises, starting with our first steps out the door – will we go left or right? As we make our way, we might find ourselves changing someone else’s inexorable fate, often with just a smile or a kind word, we may even purchase a hot drink for the soul we come across huddled against the rain. Love your fate and if you can, change someone else’s!

The stunning new roof garden at the downtown Vancouver Public Library (Vancouver, B.C.). Its architectural envelope reminiscent of the coliseum in Rome.

When the coliseum in Rome was built centuries ago, no one imagined a future where its likeness would be sitting in the centre of a bright, modern city!

I found myself taking these shots after wandering through a quirky summer exhibit, I’m glad I turned left as I exited my building on that sunny day!

This post was inspired by a heartwarming write-up by a local writer and musician, Grant Lawrence. His article can be found at: https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2019/07/17/hermit-desolation-sound-vancouver/