The Japanese Lover, Isabel Allende

"Happiness is not exuberant or noisy, like pleasure or joy; it's silent, tranquil, and gentle; it's a feeling of satisfaction inside that begins with self-love."

The Japanese Lover

It's quotes time~ 

This afternoon I decided to take a walk along the path behind my house in Airdrie - one of my favourite places on earth. Every time I walk out there, I'm amazed, like I'm seeing that view for the first time. Whether it's summer or winter, clear skies or sunset, that particular area of Airdrie farmland always radiates an extraordinary atmosphere. Perhaps because of the way those hills are elevated, the ground feels like it's high up in the sky, floating. A real life Castle in the Sky scenery. 

I've seen some of the most breathtaking sunsets on that path, the open view of those expansive rolling hills stretching on endlessly. But this afternoon the light was unreal, the way the clouds blurring together with the glittering snow out in the horizon ... I was really filled with awe. We travel all over the world to see and experience amazing sights. But everyday, the most incredible view is already here, so close by. 

Photos can not do it justice. It's the feeling of that icy cold wind, taking those steps through the snow, squinting at the blinding sunlight, and just staring out into the distance ... that mesmerizing, simple field just behind my house. 

Perhaps it's the simple joys of living that reminded me of a special book I read early this summer when I was beginning my cruise journey. Here are some of my favourite quotes from Isabel Allende's gorgeous novel, "The Japanese Lover". Such a graceful, touching story, so universal, so effortless to connect with ... all in a quiet, simple way. 

<3 Simple Gifts. 

"To just be, to be in the moment, enjoying the light of the sun, people, birds. Pain came and went, nausea came and went, but for some blessed reason or other, they did not overwhelm her for long. By contrast, she was able to enjoy every drop of water during her shower, the sensation of a pair of friendly hands shampooing her hair, a deliciously cold lemonade on a summer's day." 

"The process was the same: they advanced step by step toward the end, some more quickly than others, and lost everything along the way, for we cannot take anything with us to the other side of death."

"A lonely character, someone whom suffering had taught to keep his emotions in check." 

"The need for her to know she was loved was insatiable."

"The nightmares of the past were like dust that settled along the way: the slightest gust sent them billowing up once more." 

"Our love is inevitable, Alma. I always knew it, although the for years I struggled against it and tried to tear you from my mind, knowing I could not do so from my heart. Eventually I accepted I had lost you in this life. I stopped making pointless conjecture as to what had happened between us. I had no hope that destiny would reunite us."

"The betrayal was so immense there was not enough room for it in his chest: he could scarcely breathe. The evidence must have been there, but he was too blind and deaf to spot it. The falsehood was so complete, the web of lies so intricate and complex, the hurt done so irreparable, that he could only conclude he did not know Alma in the slightest, that she was a stranger to him. The woman he loved had never existed; he had built her out of his dreams." 

"She felt disconnected and different everywhere else too, but far from being a problem this gave her a sense of pride, as it added to her view of herself as a distant,  mysterious artist vaguely superior to the rest of mortals." 

"I learned to know myself and look my loneliness in the face. It doesn't frighten me anymore." 

"I love to watch a fire burning, it's like the endless swell of the sea."