Point Defiance | Tacoma, WA

I've posted a number of times about versions of home, different spaces that bring me back to the core of Myself. The Pacific Northwest is one of those spaces. To cast the net widely, from San Francisco up through Vancouver. My recent visit to Tacoma, from the very moment I turned south on I-5, washed me in an overwhelming flood of memories...as going home always will.

I've been to Tacoma many times and found solace there during an immensely pivotal, difficult time in my life. Specifically, I found solace in Point Defiance. The details of these memories and of the difficult time long since past are not worth drudging up, but I will say that Point Defiance still, after all these years, holds a very special energy for me.

This sacred space gave to me yesterday, as it gave to me years ago, a profound sense of perspective. This old growth forest, with ferns half the size of my rental car and redwoods so tall I only imagine seeing their top canopy, gently reminds me that the stresses of life are not only fleeting, they are dramatically unimportant to the grand scheme. Point Defiance has become a trusted friend, willing to call me on my bullshit and quiet enough for me to hear the advice I most need to hear.

(Photos by me & music by Indigo Girls: "Get Out the Map" and "World Falls")