Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Energy of a Place

I live in Las Vegas, Nevada and before I moved here I had a lot of misconceptions about the place. Some have been fed by those who promote the city, the whole "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" slogan, and the old ideas of the mob and the rat pack lingered in my imagination. Then there was the whole idea of a desert with miles of rolling sand dunes, extreme heat, and nothing else. The misconceptions about the land and climate were the first to be squelched when we moved here in 1996, the rest of the misconceptions would gradually drop away as I gradually got to know and fall in love with what I now consider my hometown.

There are some behaviors and attitudes, and there are certainly activities that continue to pervade the culture here that I find to be unsavory, but I also know after living in more than one place that this is true in pockets of any place. There is an independent spirit in the people here, and of course there are many here who have a penchant for risk and excess, but there is also the energy here of the willingness to start over, begin anew, to redefine and to reinvent. I love this energy.

This city has gone through a lot of changes since it's inception as a city and it continues to evolve, it does so rapidly and it does it for survival. I often consider the energy of the people in an area to have a great affect on the energy of the place, and vice versa. There is incredible beauty in the landscape here, it breathes positivity into you, and there is a yearning by many here to preserve that beauty. I have high hopes for our city that we are going to be moving to the leading edge of the greening of this country, we have so many natural energy resources and I believe the spirit to do so. I hope that the energy that I strive to infuse into my environment has an impact, and I am seeing more like minded spirits arriving at this place.

We've been having a lot of moisture here lately and this has brought snow to the mountains, so my husband and I went up into the mountains this weekend to visit the snow and I took pictures. The picture I posted at the head of this post is one of them, below are more for your viewing pleasure, and I hope I have given you a different view of the city where I live - Las Vegas.

posted by Aine

4 comments:

Katherine Jenkins said...

Those mountains look like they have very strong energy! What a beautiful place you live in. Location, location, location...I think you mastered that one!

Wanderlust said...

These are beautiful pictures Aine. Not at all like I imagine Las Vegas to be. I think you need to live in a place through all the seasons to fully appreciate it.

Beth Chapman said...

Aine - No slot machines? This is NOT what I pictured Vegas to look like. I guess it proves you see from your heart. So glad your heart has pointed us to this beauty and strength.

Sai Ganesh Nagpal said...

When you feel so connected to the place where you live, life must be so much more fulfilling. I have yet to find that place, but hopefully someday I will. Someplace where I can rest my eyes on beauty and serenity, rather than roads and highways and traffic, and know that I am home. Thank you for sharing your experience, Aine.