Beauty of the Inspired Place

I know I've taken a bit of a hiatus. Two weeks and no posts at all, yet I imagine that most people were busy and the truth is, I was too. Busier than I expected since I'm far from everyone I know. It just goes to show you that no matter where you are, you're never alone and you don't have to be alone if you choose to engage with others. I crashed three different family gatherings and attended a few neighbor parties. It was fun and so I hope that you also had some good experiences over those last two weeks in December.

This post is going to be long and picture-filled.
This is the first picture that I want to showcase
because it shows the simple life I lived in Oxford.
I spent 4 weeks of summer there and took classes.
We traveled about on the weekends and it was wonderful.
I had so much time to think and write.

There are places that you can go and feel inspired. My theory is that different characteristics of places make them inspiring to people and that since each person is inspired by different things, many places could fill this list and they would all be correct.

However, it can generally be agreed upon that certain places are universally inspiring. Whether it's a hidden spot in nature or a bustling human metropolis, there are places that just light our imaginations on fire.

Phillip Pullman (author of His Dark Materials series) has the same inspiration as me: Oxford. In his collection of essays and speeches (Daemon Voices), he explains that just walking through the morning fog or gazing at certain buildings creates a fanciful air that inspires him. While I was in Oxford, I felt similarly inspired. There is beauty in the familiar and unfamiliar and, for me, Oxford was unfamiliar. Sure, I'd heard about it and I'd read Deborah Harkness's A Discovery of Witches, so I knew the names of some of the buildings, but I hadn't seen it or walked its streets. Being there was a whole other experience that had me daydreaming.

This is the Radcliffe Camera. It's a library and
supposedly has underground tunnels that connect
it to the Bodleian library. While you have to be a
student to enter the building, tourists can gaze at the
majestic outside and imagine its interior.