Moments in Time: Glen Coe, Scotland (Highlands)

The winds were overwhelming but calming. The periods of rain were drenching but refreshing. The brisk air cut through your skin but awakened the very breath of your life. Standing in its midst was somehow a confrontation with truth beyond the ability to explain with my senses. Quite simply, it was one of the most mystical experiences of my life.

Glencoe is nestled in the Scottish Highlands. It is about 100 miles or so from Edinburgh. If you leave from Edinburgh, as I did, you go through the lush greenery of the Scottish lowlands, passing many breathtaking lochs (lakes) and some picturesque towns. Stirling, for one, with its famous castle and the William Wallace Monument, all before entering the dramatic change of scenery to the rugged Highlands.

Glencoe is a must-visit if you ever find yourself in the Highlands. A quick side note: For all James Bond fans, Glen Coe was the backdrop for Skyfall.

Glencoe also has a sad history stemming from the February 13th, 1692 massacre of the MacDonald Clan, in which 34 men, including the chief of the clan, two women, and two children, were killed. Government soldiers welcomed and stayed with the MacDonald Clan for a week, rose, and slaughtered the clan, killing some while driving other clan members down the ridges of the barren terrain.

Hearing the chilling story of the massacre, and upon reaching Glencoe, you could almost still hear the chilling sounds of the MacDonald clan, hidden in the winds.

This was part of the mystery of Glencoe. This was part of the mystical experience.

As I stood before the Three Sisters, Glencoe’s three famous mountain peaks, the cold, barren landscapes offered to teach me something about life—about the unknown, about mystery.

We all yearn for moments that transcend us into a deeper meaning of life. We yearn for moments when we experience the good and beautiful in someone or something, moments that make us lose track of time.

Whether we consciously know it or not, these moments drip in mystery, for there is no formula for explaining beauty. Instead, beauty arrests and captivates us without words or explanation. There is no equation for learning to experience the power of redemptive suffering, nor is there a life course to learn to love sacrificially. All of these things are, in some ways, a mystery.

Nevertheless, in today’s postmodern world, we seem to lose the wonder of mystery. The very mention of it is met with skepticism and/or restraint, great disdain and anger, or worse, apathy. If we can’t explain something with words or proof, it simply can’t exist.

Still, there I stood in one of the most rugged and barren landscapes I have ever seen, silently being offered a profound peace through all of my senses. With every faint sight of a sunray, sharp wind gust, or drenching raindrop, the landscape and weather drew me into a mystery—a mystery of peace that went beyond something I could fathom or manufacture on my own.

Glencoe became a microcosm of a soul.

I have always struggled with a bit of anxiety. Sometimes consciously, as my brain rarely turns off, but most of the time, it resides subconsciously, creeping in when I least expect it.

I once heard that anxiety could be felt when we realize just how finite we are as human beings. It comes during the spectrum of large and small moments when we face the reality of our own mortality. In other words, there is a finite time to our experiences, and we know that we don’t have any control over it, so we become anxious. As a result, lacking power can make us feel cold and barren, fearful and lonely. Thus, our souls can feel like the “Highlands” in our lives.

Having said that, standing amid the actual Highlands, feeling finite and vulnerable, lacking control, I was struck with a transcendent peace just then.

When we feel barren or vulnerable, we are offered a life-breathing power beyond ourselves. When we face the blistering reality of our finite being, we can finally look out into the beauty and mystery of being itself—the Creative Mystery of Love.

I am sure the Highlands touch everyone in different ways. For me, specifically Glencoe, offered a mystical experience that I will never forget. It showed me that immense beauty and peace are always waiting to be found in my life’s most barren times or experiences.

Thank you for joining me in Glencoe, and until next time, blessings to you on your journey…

About the Series:

This series of writing will focus on a particular moment and place in time.  For example, it will take us from a bench in Switzerland to a baseball field in Montana or a street corner in France.  Each place invites us into the moment’s emotions, lessons learned, and another journey for the soul.