I knew that I was coming to stay close to Crete's White Mountain range, but was completely unprepared for the drama and awesome beauty of their snow-topped peaks. I was first treated to a very exciting view of this natural wonder as my plane circled to land at Chania airport on Tuesday - and now they are the backdrop to my everyday life. Yesterday's wind and rain has abated and today, if I stop typing and look up, I see turquoise sea, rocky cliffs, green hills and then a hazy line of purplish grey, above which emerges the mountains, topped by white fluffy clouds and a sky the colour of forget-me-nots. This view is from the side terrace of my apartment:
The white peaks are still covered in snow at this time of year, which may seem unexpected for Crete, but apparently they also look white in summer as the rock is so chalky.
Taking in this panorama, I am constantly reminded of paintings by Nicholas Roerich, the great early 20th century Russian artist, writer, visionary and peacemaker who journeyed to Tibet in search of Shangri-La, that mystical, timeless land of contented human beings living in harmony with nature. The White Mountains seem to offer me a possibility - the invitation to embrace inner peace that can become a consistent state of being, even when I'm in less peaceful and more challenging situations and surroundings. It's not always easy to remember that we can have dominion over our mind - it's entirely up to us to choose how we react to whatever is going on. Here's Roerich's painting Kanchenjunga - see what I mean?
The white peaks are still covered in snow at this time of year, which may seem unexpected for Crete, but apparently they also look white in summer as the rock is so chalky.
Taking in this panorama, I am constantly reminded of paintings by Nicholas Roerich, the great early 20th century Russian artist, writer, visionary and peacemaker who journeyed to Tibet in search of Shangri-La, that mystical, timeless land of contented human beings living in harmony with nature. The White Mountains seem to offer me a possibility - the invitation to embrace inner peace that can become a consistent state of being, even when I'm in less peaceful and more challenging situations and surroundings. It's not always easy to remember that we can have dominion over our mind - it's entirely up to us to choose how we react to whatever is going on. Here's Roerich's painting Kanchenjunga - see what I mean?
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