The Exotic and the Familiar: A sense of place brings us together

Summer is sizzling across the Coast. Take a moment to look around you—brilliant skies, inviting blue ocean, indigo mountains, charming cities and towns dotting a verdant landscape. Whenever I take the time to look out my window and remind myself to really “be present”, I am struck by the beauty and spirit of the place where I live and how much more there is to see and explore.

Canada is vast. To live on its edges is a singular experience. Being an Ontario expat, I tend to make subconscious Editor - Belinda Bruce (Sarah Needley)comparisons between my “homeland” and my “new land”. While differences between provinces may be only subtle nuances of cadence, culture and custom, for me, living on the West Coast has the feel of another country. Almost exotic.

A sense of “the foreign in the familiar” is what this issue of Coastlines attempts to convey: watching theatre under the stars in a rainforest park, golfing beside a waterfall with vistas of snow-capped mountains in the distance, exchanging vows on a tranquil isle or in a turn-of-the-century hotel, vacationing on a small island marked by sparkling white beaches, few cars and a sense of timelessness. Whether you live in a coastal community or are visiting from afar, you will find touch points that connect you with the people, places and happenings around you. Like any other “exotic locale”, the West Coast has breathtaking scenery, unique wildlife, enchanting history and customs, and a warm, inviting ambience. The global community has recognized its distinctiveness by bringing the Olympic Games here in 2010; as further evidence, we are seeing an increasing number of people planning West Coast destination weddings.

Humanistic geographer Yi-Fu Tuan describes a sense of place as “a unique blend of sights, sounds, and smells; a unique harmony of natural and artificial rhythms such as times of sunrise and sunset, of work and play.” Indulge your senses, absorb the culture buzzing around you, discover some small treasure or magnificent peak. I am there with you, seeing this spectacular place through the eyes of a child, shining with wonder and possibility.

Editor - Belinda Bruce