I had a conversation with a friend a few weeks back on how his view on life had changed drastically with time. He talked about how for years he desperately wanted to see the world, home was just not enough. Home time often felt like wasted adventure time. Adventure, adventure, adventure. But over the last few years, increasingly, his home, his garden, the countryside immediately around him, was his world, it was more than enough. He felt like he had done enough travelling and adventuring now, experienced enough of that in person. Now he could relax and fully appreciate that LOCAL LIFE which had previously seemed way too claustrophobic and restrictive for him.

Why take his paintbrushes and sketchbooks thousands of miles, through countless stressed filled hours in concrete departure lounges…

Why damage the world in search of ever more exotic adventures when there was more than a lifetime of adventures and wonderful subjects to paint, just a few moments from his front door….

For years he only went into the garden to have a barbecue and reluctantly cut the grass. Now he sits for hours in his garden, happy, relaxed and content.

He was even thinking about if he could get rid of his car, did he need it now he had taken ROOT.

This got me thinking, could I do the same here, take root in this part of Yorkshire. Possibly, there are definitely worse places to become rooted. But I kept coming back to this one thought…

I could take root in Switzerland, I really could. I would right now if I could.

54 thoughts on “Take root.”

    1. Canada is a big country, with every part different from the others. In my lifetime I have lived on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, in the southern (civilized) parts and now the (wilder) northern parts, and many places in between. I never once had trouble picking up and going, and never regretted leaving anywhere. I didn’t do it for adventure, but just for whatever experience I could gain from meeting a wide variety of people, and seeing as much of the country as I could.
      I’m not say everyone should do that (though they really should), but one quickly learns that tieing yourself down in one place or one area prevents spiritual growth. No matter how different we are, we are still the same. It is easy to love, and ridiculous to hate.
      Just putting in my 2 cents worth.

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      2. Aside from volcanos and typhoons,Canada provides a wide fariety of nature, landscape, weather, and culture. What we don’t have ia the kind of archetectural history Europe and China have, but recent findings take our civilizations back over 10,000 years. We are like a microcosm of the world.

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    2. Got it in one Carol. There’s a real need to start making the dream become a reality.
      It really, really needs the work of getting to grips with being ((German: “Die Schweizer”, French: “Les Suisses”, Italian: “Gli Svizzeri”, Romansh: “Ils Svizzers”) who just happens to live in Yorkshire for now.
      Oh man alive, so many languages to learn if you want to be fluently Swiss.

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  3. Spoiler Alert! Looks like we both had ‘taking root’ on our minds. I did a bit of writing for up coming blog posts, today. My first post includes this bit on taking root:

    “To help root myself much deeper, I bought a little book called “Worry Less, Pray More” A Woman’s Guide to Anxiety-Free Living (By Donna K. Maltese). Of course, the Bible is filled with all that we need. However, I find the insights and reminders from other believers so helpful for digging deeper into our text. (Iron sharpens iron. –Proverbs 27:17)”

    Wherever you take root, I’m sure you’ll be a blessing to your neighbours, Superdad. Thanks for sharing your sunny disposition, even while you’re currently rooted in a rather wet-weather prone part of your country. I hope you are able to put down roots in your dream country. ❤️

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      2. West Wales, UK is a pleasant location to be. Soil here is alive, the rain waters the plants, the sun comes out whenever it feels like it and what’s not to love about that?

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  6. Hawklad is grown up now. He can make the choice of going with you, or staying in England. If I were you, knowing how much you love Switzerland, I would go — the sooner the better.

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  7. Make yourself Swiss then.
    Talk the language every Sunday.
    Have Swiss food on Sundays.
    You walk the walk and see how that feels, but for now in Yorkshire.
    ===============
    Alors faites-vous Suisse.
    Parlez la langue tous les dimanches.
    Mangez de la nourriture suisse le dimanche.
    Vous parcourez la promenade et voyez ce que cela fait, mais pour l’instant dans le Yorkshire.
    ===============
    Dann machen Sie sich zum Schweizer.
    Sprechen Sie jeden Sonntag die Sprache.
    Genießen Sie sonntags Schweizer Essen.
    Sie gehen den Weg und sehen, wie sich das anfühlt, aber vorerst in Yorkshire.

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      1. I’ve got a french CD learning set in my car my son got from the Free Books Carmarthen. Each day now I’m at work it’s going on. Learning how to see things in different words is a challenge at any age. So I don’t expect at this age I’m going to be fluent just like that. If I was determined to learn, then I’d go all out on the post-it stickers around the house again. As for trying to soak off the white stickers that adorned the doors:
        🚪 Salle de bain
        🚪 Chambre à coucher
        🚪 Cuisine
        🚪 Porte d’entrée

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      2. Of all things, I learnt some German words including how to count to 10 (always a good thing) from my son listening to Rammstein very loudly and letting the neighbourhood know he exists, Oh parenthood, the joys of all the learning that that title [Parent] involves!
        “One, here comes the sun” 🌞
        “Two, here comes the sun” 🌞

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      3. Translation:
        [Intro]
        One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, out

        [Verse 1]
        Everyone is waiting for the light
        Be afraid, don’t be afraid
        The sun is shining out of my eyes
        It will not set tonight
        And the world counts loudly to ten

        [Chorus]
        One, here comes the sun
        Two, here comes the sun
        Three, it is the brightest star of them all
        Four, here comes the sun

        [Verse 2]
        The sun is shining out of my hands
        It can burn, it can blind you all
        When it breaks out of the fists
        It lays down hotly on the face
        It will not set tonight
        And the world counts loudly to ten

        [Chorus]
        One, here comes the sun
        Two, here comes the sun
        Three, it is the brightest star of them all
        Four, here comes the sun
        Five, here comes the sun
        Six, here comes the sun
        Seven, it is the brightest star of them all
        Eight, nine, here comes the sun
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        [Verse 3]
        The sun is shining out of my hands
        It can burn, it can blind you
        When it breaks out of the fists
        It lays down hotly on your face
        It lays down painfully on your chest
        Balance is lost
        It lets you go hard to the floor
        And the world counts loudly to ten

        [Chorus]
        One, here comes the sun
        Two, here comes the sun
        Three, it is the brightest star of them all
        Four, and it will never fall from the sky
        Five, here comes the sun
        Six, here comes the sun
        Seven, it is the brightest star of them all
        Eight, nine, here comes the sun

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  8. I keep waiting for the post saying you’ve done it!

    My friend is visiting several EU countries soon. I’m only half joking about her not coming back. She’s only half joking too (she lived over there in her 20s/30s).

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  9. That third picture would do it for me! We all have different needs but I think ultimately there is that one place where we belong. Sometimes we have to settle for next best and be content with it but you should follow your dream if you can.

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  12. After visiting Poland, I thought I wanted to retire there (my grandparents all came from Poland). Instead, I moved home and now live near my siblings and extended family and now I have no desire to live in Poland. Your pull toward Switzerland is so strong, and maybe when you get there you will want to stay. Or maybe you will find that the fantasy of Switzerland is better than the reality and after a week or two you will be ready to come back to Yorkshire. You will only know, though, when you go.

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  13. Those beautiful vistas are ready to be painted, Gary! Hope it happens for you both one day. What a beautiful place to plant new roots into.

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  14. Switzerland is a place I have always wanted to visit but living there unless one was born there would probably be as hard as moving anywhere over seas. Here is the beauty of every country…there is beauty in all of them. We live in northern Mn. now because our daughter lives there. Our son lives in Texas. Truthfully, and maybe its my age, I am contend to just be with our kids and their kids when we visit. They do not have to show us anything outside the home. Maybe it’s because I have lived outside the U.S., I am not sure but so far the state I could live in is Kentucky. It’s not my home state but our two kids were born there. But I love the people, the land, the culture, but God in His wisdom has taught me with Him I can fit in anywhere. America is a first world country and travel over seas will show you why even though there are some very beautiful places and people all over. Love the pictures.

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  15. I fully appreciate your friend’s comment. Home and community takes on a whole new difference when travel takes a backseat. Switzerland is lovely though rather expensive to live there.

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  16. I know just what you mean. We’ve lived in the same corner of Wisconsin for over a decade, yet Bo and I still don’t really feel at home here. We would both uproot and settle in the wilds of the North Woods in a heartbeat, but that would not be helpful for our little Bs, especially when it comes to services for Biff and Bash. So we must find our way to nurture our roots before we can finally transplant.

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  17. Strange how that happens. When I was little our family moved to Texas and my Mom cried about for maonths. Several years later, due to her health problems, we moved to Alabama, she really cried then! She requested (and was granted) her burial in Texas.
    The pictures are beautiful!!!

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  19. I so can relate not that I’ve traveled alot but a bit. And I’m finding home can be a beautiful place for peace and enlightening. As long as we have been friends on here I know how you long for Switzerland. Maybe that is home home to your heart and the precious memories .And maybe overtime that will be something you may have to explore. HUGS❤️

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