Christmas in Paradise? – Blogmas Day 4

This is a photo of where I was last December: Kaiteriteri, South Island, one of the many stops during my New Zealand travels. When I took this photo, I remember trying to get my head around the idea that I was sitting on a sandy beach, in a t-shirt, looking out at this view, knowing that my family back home in England would be huddled around a fire in blankets and drinking hot chocolate.

I think when people say ‘serene’, it is easy to connote that with peace and paradise – admittedly, this picture seems to sum up that idea almost too perfectly. However, even though I was in a stereotypically serene setting, I wouldn’t have described serenity as my primary feeling.

Every day I was in a new place, seeing new things and with new people, and although I loved it, it was actually pretty draining as an introvert; I often found myself falling very quickly into deep sleep in whatever crowded hostel room I was in that night.

Yes, the scenery was serene, but that didn’t translate into feelings of serenity. This year I’m spending the run up to Christmas at home, and although the imagery I’m surrounded by in my home setting doesn’t so obviously link to that generic picture of peace, I definitely feel more serene here.

So what does serene mean to me? I’d probably sum it up as familiarity and family, comfort and cosiness; maybe Christmas in paradise isn’t the dream to reach for.

What does serene mean to you?

 

This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge.

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Want to read more Blogmas posts? Scroll to the bottom of Day One for the full list.

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Keep up to date on Twitter @alysjournals and follow me on Instagram @alystravels to see my photography ❤

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