On my first walkabout Liverpool, I noticed the seagull-pooped pavement and men homeless on the streets. In the following days of exploration, the character of the city came into view and the dirt disappeared. After eight days, I discovered that Liverpool was teeming with fascinating sights and engaging folks. I only left because my brother was in London. We passed a good time there, Skip and I, (the musical Hamilton, extraordinary!) and then he was off to work.
On former visits to London, enchantment greeted me at every turn. This time, there is a disconnect. I am flotsam on a mass of motion without emotion. People pass by in a blur of the impersonal. In Liverpool, as one day rolled into eight, I became inflated, buoyant. Here in London, in the same amount of time, I feel as deflated as an abandoned bicycle tyre. What’s the matter with me?! This is one of the most stimulating international cities on the planet! I am so fortunate to be here. What in the world?
Perhaps it’s similar to when I was younger and thought that a book once started, had to be finished. Like it or not, persevere. “Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now” and Time holds different meaning. After giving the author a respectful amount of pages, if it doesn’t speak to me, I lay the book down. It’s simply not our…Time. Kinda like London today, our alignment is off. And it’s all right! It is what it is. And then there appears a glorious moment of the sublime:
Man with Horn and Flame
Fire charmer
Just outside one of the entrances to the fantabulous covered outdoor Burough Market, a musician plays a fire-breathing tuba! blowing me away…to stay. Sitting aside a brightly-painted visage of Shakespeare, the gentleman’s dapper demeanor evokes a musical nostalgia. A tip box lay open twenty feet in front of him (protection from the flame?). I drop in a couple pound coins and mouth “Thank You” with a big smile. He pauses, and tips his hat as he nods his head. His curly white mustache rises and he poses with charm. A slight yet lovely connection, and I am warmed.
Respectfully, it’s time. Onward…
“Such a mass of motion, do not know where it goes, I move with the movement and, I have the touch…wanting contact, I’m wanting contact, I’m wanting contact with you.” — Peter Gabriel
Thinking of you, my darling Heidi. Yes. It is what it is…
Channeling Frank Zappa: “Do you know what you are? You are what you is, You ain’t what you’re not, so see what you got. You are what you is, an’ that’s all it ’tis.”
Aristotle taught, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” Come from a space of love and light, and you can’t go wrong.
Peace and Love Heidi….
Oh man, Joanna. Your words and timing are impeccable. You’ve no idea….email explanation to follow. The warmest thank you to you, forever friend.