3 de Deciembre
7:29PM Melbourne Time
A conversation over coffee, a line in a song, a newly made friend, a short story and a trip all have something in common:
A LESSON LEARNT.
A loss of a child, a wrong turn, a heart broken all have something in common:
A LESSON LEARNT.
A few days ago I was at one of my closest friend's house looking through her sister's sketch book. Amazed was I to find a quote so perfect, it went along the lines of a bird sitting on a branch happily and confidently because it knows that even if the branch breaks it still has it's own wings. The most wonderful thing about this story is that my friend's sister is only 11 years old.
Sometimes we underestimate the capacity of a child's mind.
For a child of that age to be able to even grasp it's meaning amazes me. It makes me wonder if feeding children's minds with "important" dates and equations that are only applicable in a school environment is really doing us good. Would it be better to teach them about this thing called real life? And to learn more about the world as a whole, the mind, body and spirit... I guess we do well to introduce religion in classes but I think there's a difference between getting children to re-write the 7 sacraments and actually instigating thought. Some people that i've met in their mid 40's still don't know who they are or what they stand for. I'm not saying we all need to go join the war or do something crazy just to find the value of life. No, it's the little things that add up to make you who you are. It's those little things that made me excited to come back home.
I just had a really wonderful conversation with two friends that I had the privaledge to work alongside in the leadership group of my last year of high school. I tried my best to give them an account of my 5 month journey and found that most of my stories were about PEOPLE. So i came to the conclusion that people make a place. Take me to the highest mountain point, the most picturesque garden and give me the most delicious piece of cake.. but in reality, if i have no one to share that with it all looses it's flavour.
It's the people i'm still in contact with, what really fascinates me is how people interact with their environment, how they interact with each other, how languages are formed, how religions are created, how we make sense of the world and of each other - how we are.
I guess what I'm focussing on doing now is maintaining my 'travel mentality' and combining it into my 'reality' at home. I've started fresh and am enthusiastic about truly living here, with eyes wide open. I've intentionally chosen not to work until February to give myself the chance to really think about what I want in the new year and what I want to cut out of my life that was there 5 months ago.
Now i'm more concerned about inner growth than how full my wallet or warddrobe are. Though i've never been the type to prioritise my life with these things it's hard not to get caught up in the 'stress of life' - if you're playing in mud you can't help but get some dirt stains..
A life of conscious awareness
A life free from the ego
A life of sensational immersion
A life free from distractions
Mind, Body and Spirit
Completely Here.
High hopes, big dreams and with feet on the ground.
Dream with eyes wide open!
