London -5am

I couldn't sleep and ended up in front of a monitor screen, checking and replying to emails received since my departure from Madison. London is vibrantly busy. It reminds me of New York and I have to admit that I always enjoyed visiting New York.

Would I want to live there? No. Nevertheless, born and raised in a large congested city, Casablanca, I cannot feel comfortable in the noisiest and most crowded of places, i.e. International Airports.

Yet, as I write this, I am ready to move, go, out of London and as far away from Europe as I can. I don't know why, i feel this way. Maybe, I've changed for the better, feel more at peace in peaceful places, in less toxic environments. Perhaps, I am more at home, no longer where the cosmopolitan life is festive and grandiose and superfluous...

I am home where my heart belongs. I am home where silence is pristine and natural. Like when I used to surf. Like when I used to be alone in the water, and no one else around to talk to, be distracted by, just the ocean and I.

India is coming and I know what it entails. But until then, we'll just have to keep on going one breath at a time. India is coming, and with her Home not too far behind. But that is then and this is now... So, I bid you goodbye and wish you well, from London, at 5:10am on September 30th, 2008.

Be well.

Story of the week -09/16/08

It has been heard that a strange scene was taking place, on a daily basis, not too far from the Sultan's palace. Apparently, every morning, Joha could be seen stepping out his house's front door, to take a deep breath and exclaim, as loudly as he could, "Let this house be safe from lions!" Then, he would turn around and head back in.

Confused by this odd behavior, the neighbors decided to confront him, after a week had passed since the affair started. They gathered into an impressively large and curious throng and moved as one to seek him out of his home.

When Joha appeared, they asked him, "What is going on with you now? For a week, you've been stepping out every morning to scream, 'let this house be safe from lions?' Don't you know that there aren't any lions around here?"

"Aha!" Exclaimed Joha, "It works."

Allow me to share...

The moon and the stars, celestial bodies, whirling and swirling, traveling from who knows where to who knows where, unfathomably large, inspire us to ponder, question and dream… We seek the eternal, when we’re already of it.

Meanwhile, I write, and in the process open myself to the eyes of every stranger whom Fate would have cross my path. I dig deep -otherwise it wouldn’t be writing. I divulge and confess, attempting to peel layer upon layer of all that is superficial and mostly inconsequential.

Writing is a gate that opens, a host that welcomes you in, guides through door after door, and all the way to the center of his most private domain. Otherwise, it just wouldn’t be writing.

This said, I welcome you to enter my world, and, join me on the journey that is about to swallow me whole -if you so desire…

Letting go...

Extricating oneself from within the boundaries of responsibility and good judgement, and out of the safety of daily living, even when done slowly, and as carefully as possible, is a frightening, or at least stress inducing, step to take...

Yet, jumping into the unknown, shedding one's certainties -either adopted or imposed, might just be the only to recourse left, (for those who instead of fulling living have become indolent watchers of their own unfolding existences,) to awaken and reconnect with the 'Now and Here.'

Thus, Having chosen to let go, I fall... into the unknown, out of my comfort zone, towards my dreams and highest inspirations, despite the gnawing shadows of my innermost doubts and fears.

A few days ago, I gave my resignation at the University of Wisconsin, and so in a week, I'll be free from the very job that was gnawing at me from within, as well as allowing me to honestly provide for myself. I also purchased a few one-way tickets to cross the Atlantic, still uncertain of which way my path will wind its way before reaching a clear destination. Finally, I even dropped my yoga classes...

Similarly to surfing, I feel that falling requires a clear intention, good timing, daring, boldness and earnest trust in one's own intuition; and who knows... it might just prove to be as exhilarating a ride.

The 28Th of September is the date for me. Hopefully, I'll be ready. After all, life is a journey... let us meet it, ride it, and hopefully enjoy it.

Until then, I'll just go ahead and stress myself to oblivion.

So be well, and when your time comes to choose, choose wisely.

Indecision

I've never been good at making decisions. Life happens. I try to follow my instincts. There is a voyage coming my way, but I have no clue as for when, where and how...

I'm planning my departure, as best as I can. But this simply isn't enough. A page worth of questions comes to mind. Sell the car or not? Quit my job in two, three, or four weeks? Go this way, or that? Laptop, or no laptop? and so forth until I begin losing my hair.

So, I decided to step back from the madness, take a seat to contemplate my breathing. In and out. In and out. Inhalation into exhalation. Exhalation into Inhalation. I ride the cycles, blending one to the next... What shall happen will happen. There is no need for being in control of everything, from beginning to end. Not that I could, or anyone else.

Life is a wild river, flowing from who knows where to who knows where. You can sit at its bank and watch it pass you by. You can fear and resist it. But remember, you can also welcome it, ride it, fearlessly, openly and playfully. The choice is yours, as much as it is mine...

Be well and seek to enjoy every moment of your journey.