Love at First Sight

November 19, 2023

We sometimes fall in love with places at first sight. We come upon the site; it feels beautiful and we want to stay. We may feel awe, excitement or enchantment. We may feel like we’ve been there before, even though we haven’t. We love its terrain, atmosphere, culture, architecture, nature and scenery. We love the people and may even feel like we have come home.

Coming home is something many of us want to do, especially in the second half of life. In the early years, we lost the deep connection to our souls when our ego erected a convenient but false self that covered over them. Our false self, also called our ego, is thin and superficial, whereas our soul has to go under a crust. Sometimes, however, we see or experience something in the physical world that breaks the crust between our ego and soul. And for a brief time, we are in the bliss of reconnection to our soul.

My friend Tommy, I, and three other great college friends were backpacking through Europe in the summer of 1971. We looked down from our train high in the Alps and saw a spectacular village that looked as if it was out of a storybook. The town was Kandersteg, which was our next train stop. But we were scheduled to ride the train all night to Zurich. Tommy was captivated by the glimmering village and said, “Let’s get off the train right now ... that place is the most beautiful place I have ever seen!”

The rest of us tried to convince Tommy that we had to stick to our itinerary and not leave the train. He could hardly believe that we did not want to get off at Kandersteg. Exasperated, Tommy said something to the effect that we didn’t see what he saw and that if we did, we’d scrap the itinerary to be in such a breathtaking place.

I am convinced that the landscape of Tommy’s soul was reflected in that village with its quaint buildings, waterfalls, church spires and warm glow. He knew that a deep part of him was to be found there. Looking back, we should have stopped, but the rest of us were set on keeping the schedule.

Inquiry: Does our soul manifest on schedule?

Dear God,

I could kick myself for not agreeing to get off that train. And now that I am privileged to know even more of my forever friend Tommy’s life, I realize that Kandersteg indeed out-pictured his amazing soul. Thank you. Amen.

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