Hiraeth


At about 5:30 p.m. today I viewed the ending of the day from my Lanai.  I am so blessed/lucky to have a super view of the Pond which is at the heart of Glen Oaks Ridge, Sarasota where I live.

The beauty of this evening led me to a sadness which I knew as a child.  As a little boy, 60 years ago, I would get sad at the end of the day as the summer sun “went down”.

Perhaps it was not sadness.  Maybe it was more like wistfulness or longing.

The Welsh language has a good word which identifies what I felt all those years ago; and what I felt today. It is “Hiraeth”. 

Hiraeth is Welsh word that has no direct English translation. However, the University of Wales, Lampeter attempts to define it as homesickness tinged with grief or sadness over the lost or departed. It is a mix of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness.

I felt that mix of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness this evening.'

I think that it is a yearning for the Kingdom and Justice of God.

I have experienced Hiraeth for most of my life.

Here are some photo's  taken from my Lanai.







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