The Celtic Christians Call Them Thin Places? Mine Was in the Dominican Republic

by Heather J. Kirk
(Scottsdale, Arizona, USA)

Celtic Christians called them Thin Places- where the membrane between heaven and earth disappears. Mine was in the Dominican Republic where joy touched the top of my head then pushed out through sandy toes. The Breath of Life passed through and said, You need to live here?

The summer of 2009, I vacationed in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic, one of the most beautiful, clean, palm-lined stretches of beaches on the southern coast and since all beaches in the country are breathtaking, that's saying a lot!

On an all-day boat trip that included snorkeling, artisan village visit, lunch and beach visits, I had a spiritual experience. Speeding across the Caribbean Sea, looking at the most amazing color of blue... alternating sandy and rocky shores, with tiny natural paths leading deep into protected, lush green, national forests.

A sudden, joyful fullness came over me, starting at the top of my head and passed with a whoosh through my body. The immediate thought paired with this filling was "I need to be here."

That whoosh, my personal "thin place" changed my life dramatically.

I spent the next six months praying for God to guide me and give me a sign, until it dawned on me I had already received my sign - very clearly while on that boat. So I decided to start planning and do it.

When asked where I would be living, as if from the same illogical source as "I need to live here," I inexplicably answered without a thought, "Santo Domingo." To understand how ironic this is, you must know that this is a two hour drive (plus a long boat ride) from Bayahibe and the Parque Nacional del Este. There are no beaches and though it is a coastal city, very little of that particular color of blue water or lush green exists along the coast in this city of three million people (and it feels like nine million cars). I spent the next 8 months living in and learning many difficult and many wonderful things about Santo Domingo - but it is a strange answer for someone who made a decision to move looking at nationally protected beaches and forests.

In spite of appearing reckless to others in making the move, I still like to have a purpose, an answer, a specific goal to work towards. I had none of that, except to try to figure out, Why?

One thing I discovered in the heat and the relaxed culture is that sometimes we are supposed to just 'be'. Maybe the 'why?' is supposed to come to me instead of me searching for it,? I theorized. (Will I recognize it? Is it necessary that I do recognize it?)

Now here's a concept to ponder - to fulfill a purpose and not even know you are doing it. But in reality, that must happen all the time!

Still, I expected that because the message to Go to the island was so clear, the reason "Why" would eventually become clear. It never did - though I have my suspicions, mostly having to do with the people I met along my journey. Every day of our lives has purpose and meaning. Instead of trying to identify and define it, constantly seeking and questioning, I needed to just live it out, because potentially every interaction, every conversation is full of importance, at a level we may never understand.

Heather J. Kirk is a graphic designer and fine art photographer who took full advantage of the decision to live in the Dominican Republic as a subject of her work ? creating a black and white series titled Playas Salvajes (Wild Beaches).