Intermission

You have to return eventually
To see everything differently
To see what you see differently
And how you see it differently
Due to having gone away

Old points of reference
Faded through absence
Return to conscience
And highlights the essence
Of what you have transcendended
Compared with if you had stayed

This place is not the same
But its from where you came
Similar, but only in name
Or is it rather who you became?
Will what you have gained
Not fade, not be difficult to retain
Unless you go again?
–
by Jean-Jacques M
© 2009

Beyond Borders

We all have our own personal journey, yet I would like to propose that evolving is part of everyone’s path. Going beyond geographical borders is as easy as buying travel tickets, but not everybody is affected by the process in the same way. We don’t all travel for the same reasons and we are not all here for the same reasons. Or are we? Unlike other species our self awareness, consciousness and a certain sense of being part of something much bigger out there, might prompt us to probe these questions further. To do so we have to tear ourselves away from a multitude of modern distractions. We are bogged down with modern conveniences, appliances, games and applications and we have more forms of entertainment than time. We are highly advanced and at the same time  stagnant. Despite everything we have or have achieved we may occasionally become aware that our current environment might not readily allow the type of further individual growth we sometimes crave for. There are many ways of going beyond personal borders, but travelling purposefully is arguably the ideal method.

To travel is to evolve when travelling is consciously used as the vehicle to go beyond personal borders.

To evolve is to always attempt to shift the borders of our own limitations beyond their current borders.

To evolve is to expand our life experiences in order to learn more from life beyond the borders of the conventional.

To evolve is to continue facing our fears and to overcome them beyond the borders of the limitations they have imposed on us.

To evolve is to become autonomous in our thoughts beyond the borders of collective thinking and conditioning.

As an individual, going beyond the borders of what we think is personally possible will shape and enhance the person uniquely on his or her own path.

To travel is to open the mind. The “risk” with opening the mind is that you could possibly open the sluices and temporarily “flood the dam”, because you might have to reconsider treasured reference points. This can initially be quite an unsettling, unnerving, exciting experience. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t have it any other way…

Article and photo by Jean-Jacques M

© 2008

Safer than Houses

The long term traveler makes short term investments in short to medium term experiences. During the investment period short term loss of income may occur, but the long term profits are immeasurable  and immense. Even the shortest experiences yield high returns of knowledge and continuously pay out  dividends in the form of memories. The traveler’s assets are of a non-tangible nature, deposited safely within his mind and soul. His or her assets of experience cannot be eroded, diminished, transferred or misappropriated. The traveler can unobtrusively leverage these assets in order to navigate choppy waters and to identify new safe havens where he can continue to invest in more experiences. Because of their non fixed-term nature, medium and short term travel experiences can  easily be interrupted  when exit strategies or early withdrawals are called for. One appealing aspect of gained experience is that investors do not visibly stand out from the crowd, providing a sense of anonymity to the traveler. Unlike other assets, experience cannot be bought, won or inherited.  As any experienced traveler will tell you,  even though investing in this market can be hard work and requires ample amounts of energy,  its by far the  safest personal investment you could ever make.

by Jean-Jacques M

© 2008

You cannot lose what you haven’t got

The gypsy has no home
to lose in a mortgage crises
The gypsy has no status
to lose when the pie has fewer slices

The gypsy has no assets
to lose during a credit crunch
The gypsy has no inflated ego
to lose along with his free lunch

The gypsy has no misguided vanity
caused by financial insanity
The gypsy needs no rescue
when money markets catch the flu

–

Gypsy Café / Jean-Jacques M

© 2009

Nelson Mandela on Ubuntu

© grapevinepostcards.com

Last week saw the birthday of Mr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the former president of South Africa . He  reached the impressive age of 90 years and is still healthy enough to travel internationally. I spent my youth in South Africa and as a child I lived in a town close to the area where he grew up. As a celebration of his wisdom and leadership, and in acknowledgement of the positive influence he has had on my life, I have selected a few relevant quotes by the great Freedom Walker himself.

“A traveller through our country would stop at a village, and he didn’t have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu but Ubuntu has various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to improve?”

“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.”

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

“We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

“As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”

“When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.”

“It always seems impossible until its done.”

–

Ubuntu is an African philosophy and is a Zulu word which means Humanity.

Ubuntu is also the name of an open source Linux operating system, spearheaded by Mark Shuttleworth, a South African entrepreneur.

–

Bill Clinton on Ubuntu

Independence of Thought

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The ability to think freely could prove to be more important than a high level of intelligence…There is apparently more than one type of natural IQ, although conventionally only one type is measured.

Others are emotional intelligence, social intelligence and spiritual intelligence. There may well be more.

Independence of thought is not a natural ability and without it we could be limited in our perception.

Unrestricted thinking can be achieved to a certain extent, but might take years to accomplish, once we have become self aware for the need to do so.

After all we are products of our own cultures and societies with distinctive education and belief systems, which have obvious limitations and natural biases.

The bigger the picture, the more angles and points of view can be considered and the more nuanced a person’s thought processes might become.

Independence of thought can be attained through critical factual analysis, investigative research and an openness to the consideration of diverse opinions and points of view.

But first we need to become aware of the need to become aware. Critical thinking is the key.

J. J.

Mocha and Latte of Life

Life is like coffee – often filtered, sometimes bleak,
Instant at birth, rarely smooth and sweet
For the most part it can be a touch of bitter with flavour,
And still, it is the strong coffee that many of us favour…

Gypsy Café / Jean-Jacques