
With every passing year, with each journey into the far away places, I pray that these colorful people of the world are still there, being celebrated, appreciated and not become integrated into a characterless soup of grey humanity.
Manna-hata, the original name of Manhattan from the Lenape language, translates to the land of many hills, but I also heard it referred to as the island of drunkenness. Perhaps all that has happened on that small island if put together and condensed to one single film, it would be the strangest movie ever made. Magnetic city, it will always be that to me.
La Liberté éclairant le monde~Liberty enlightening the world
Quite the words to be met by upon arriving in New York, words that embody the essence of the statue of Liberty, the great lady that stands tall with her torch and tablet there on Liberty island since 1886. Liberty: the ability to have agency over your own actions, freedom, free will, determinism, aren’t these some of the promises that drove millions to pack up their things and sail to America?
As I come close to the end of the month’s posts about Cambodia, I realize that my thoughts and contemplations throughout this process have been with children, the future, and next steps towards a better world. What would it take to make this world a place safe enough and healthy enough for the children of the world? Who has the answers? What can each one of us do to ensure the unlocking of our children’s best potential? … and so many more questions…
A body of water can be so cooling, meditative, relaxing and allowing to moments of peace. Maybe it is part of the magic that water possesses, but even a river in the middle of a hectic city can provide a needed sanctuary. The lulling movement of the water, the twinkle of sunlight on the surface and a space to gaze at without interruptions save for the passing boats and fluttering birds. Today I walked to the Huang Pu river for my moment of ‘me time’ and my much needed reflective stillness.
Is there anything more inspiring to contemplate than nature? I was watching the snowy landscape and letting my mind drift when it suddenly stopped at the thought of water and its different forms, inspired by the view of the soft powdery snow on this wood and barbed wire fence. I thought of how much depth and how many different truths exist to each one thing. We live in a multi-dimensional universe where water is not just water, but steam, ice, snow, hydrogen, oxygen, hail and even fog. So, how could anyone claim to know the whole truth? Isn’t only those who don’t even know themselves?
Here is to the search for truth in 2012!
Fences have this way of drawing an emotional reaction from us when we see them. Fences are there to tell us we are not alone, despite the fact that they are created for the sole purpose of separation. When we construct fences, it is either to keep things away or safeguard things in, or both, but it is always about drawing a line, a splitting of territories, creating a divider. Then there are the unseen fences that we create, we hold on to and live behind of, not daring to cross or without great caution. Some are even built at our early childhood, our aging fences…
We are always moving, from place to place, from moment to moment, forever on a journey to somewhere. Some move fast, others slow and some believe that they are not moving at all, but they are. All things move. Even what we see as still, stationary, dead, that is also moving. Yes, even my cup of coffee near my mac is whizzing at 107,000 km/h around the sun as I type this. Motion, another mystery to dive into…