travel tales

I think the best part – or one – about the UK trip was the meeting and tuning in with random people. One of the people I met was an older chap working at a telecommunications company. Because I was reading Paolo Coelho’s “Veronica Decides to Die” we ended up having a long conversation about spirituality and life. And he told me how water crystals changed – and there were studies made about it – if you said the words “love and gratitude” and alternatively also changed when you said “hatred and vengeance” or some such thing. And basically, how the human body is 80% water, and if we thought about it that way, what would the effect of those words be on the human body? Well, I don’t know about the veracity of all that, but of course gentler words have a more soothing effect on the body; and vice versa.

Why I remember this now, besides the proximity to the trip, is because I recall now what this man said as I face a situation in life now. He said something about forgiving people in the past, that that was where he counselled people. I told him that I had forgiven people in the past, and it wasn’t the past so much as the future that bothered me. Then I thought worrying about the future was equally futile because the present was the only thing I could act upon. He said, yes, the past and future are both illusions, and only the present was what was real, what we had. (I remember this couple – a guy and a girl listening intently in on our conversation – we were passing hermits sharing our wisdoms, haha).

I can’t remember quite how we got to the issue, but I think it was something about how the past somehow returned, and he said yeah absolutely, situations kept repeating themselves (perhaps so that we learnt what we had to from them). I expressed my annoyance that it wasn’t so much that it was repeated, or that I hadn’t forgiven people in my past, but that I found myself in the position of the other person. He said, yeah, you end up mirroring the situation – I was so surprised that we actually understood and communicated on this abstract level – and all this within a span of getting from check-in to the flight seats. Anyhow, so yeah back to mirroring one’s past situation, and he said, this was when you had the opportunity for complete forgiveness because you stood in the position of those you had to forgive.

And a tough position that is, indeed.

But is it all about forgiveness? Perhaps that was his definition of love.

I have met so many such amazing people by chance – and I have learnt so, so much from these passing encounters. It is hard not to believe, then, in the magic and goodness and wisdom of life, which sends you these many messengers, or even simply, blessings of beauty and peace.

I sound so hippy now! Peace my friends! Or as some say, piss. Or Biss.

P.S. Groundhog Day is somehow reminiscent of this post - of the past repeating itself so that we may learn? That was a good movie - should hunt it down again.