Reindeer Hualien 118

Free the soul in the life by the sea

Straightly walking against the mountains on the stone road, stepping on the grass and blown by the sea breeze, you stare at this silent stander under the sky. On its lime plaster walls are the mottled black marks which reveal some soundless secrets. You still desire to proceed to this robust but forgotten citadel to free the primitive soul in you which has been sealed for so long.

An expansive view is meant to be a part of life by the sea. Inside the building are many huge windows in the rough walls, which makes it so spacious that different faces of light and sea are included in the space. Without elaborate decoration, this space is what it is--a place especially for the conversation between one and one’s heart. Only wooden chairs and coal oil lamps silently stand there. It’s a room for meditation where you can see the coming of wind and clouds as well as the change of time but with a peaceful mind which is spaced out.

Human silence in the murmuring and watching of nature

Five rooms here named after the process of a journey-like life: Drift-er, Muttering Moon, Stargaze-r, Stone Silence and Wild Wood. In a journey drifting here and there, the drifter’s heart is set free. Deep at night, the muttering moon and sea ease the loneliness of a solo trip. Stars gaze at the stargazer, producing the eternal hope by offering their broad vision in the Milky Way. On the stony path exists only silence, which helps to search for spiritual peace. Finally, the becoming of an open-minded tree in the wilderness witnesses the return of one’s very beginning mind.

The amusing happenings in Nature embrace this cool-color building in simplicity style. Notes lapped ashore join the song of cicadas in the chorus, which forms a soft lullaby. Distant mountains tell the stories about the light and fishing boats far away. Using no human language, Nature sends out romantic feelings in tranquility. Inside the building, the complex structure is like a small maze. On the ladder to the rooftop decorated with the failing light, the ceramic works of the host’s are embedded. Every step on it is artistic, is the chance of rebirth.

On the rooftop, the eroded outline of the cuesta can be overlooked, clearly portrayed in the azure sky. The spray nearby is sent up to the rocks. The distant sea and mountains are interwoven with clouds and mist slowly. The rice in paddy fields by the sea moves gently. In this seemingly abandoned and lonely building, the view of Nature can be solely enjoyed. Integrated one’s smallness into the sudden understanding of being fortunate, one can transform the wordless moment into prayers with the sea breeze to listen to the murmur of Nature and one’s inner voice.

With the light among the sea and mountains, searching for the inner peace

At night, the number of street lamp cannot illuminate the dark Huatung Highway. A lit coal oil lamp in the solid citadel stands for the temperature one keeps for oneself. The dim light brightens the trip, as the artwork of Kyo displayed here suggests—People always need the light from souls. Sleep will eventually come after the enjoyment of night breeze and stars on the rooftop, with the sounds of cicadas and waves.

Early morning, sunbeams come into the windows. With sleep which is as sound as the steady waves, you pull back the curtains, seeing the spray fly up onto the rock remotely. The view makes you believe it will be meaningful for a person who seeks for the peace in mind to visit the beautiful eroded terrain. The homemade breakfast provided by the host smells delicious. The flying-fish cuisine harbors the love for the soil and nature by making the best use of local ingredients. The fresh taste makes whoever have a bite turned into the child of the sun. Making yourself a brew in the chosen ceramic cup, you drink tea with the mountains and sea to smooth the mind in the morning.

Sometimes, loneliness is as necessary as the body needs rest; serenity is as urgent as the polluted air needs to be purified. Souls require no names; travel craves no definitions. A trip can be the individual practice of every traveler, be it searching, escaping, wandering or hoping. Solitude cannot be fatal. To look for the Neverland for a deserted mind, walking in the mountains and traveling by sea are the best way. When coming to this place independently or accompanied by partners, the seekers waiting for the call of mountains or looking at the sea will definitely meet the light rising from the horizon or another side of the mountain lighting up the secret and quiet land on the periphery of human civilization.