I told Ohad, the Kaballah teacher about my plans to go to Lebanon after Israel. My idea was to go by bus. Miles had told me that I could go easily through Jordan to Beirut when I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago. “Oh really, is that possible?” said Ohad. “There is no border between Jordan and Lebanon, you have to go through Syria”. The ground sunk from under my feet. I NEVER looked at a map myself. I just assumed that what Miles said was correct. Every sane person in the world looks at the map before he goes on a journey around the world, especially when you go to countries like Lebanon and Israel. I feel so, so stupid.
Healing in Athens
How do I feel? I’m tired, relaxed and curious. My plane to Tel Aviv just took off and I have 1,5 hours to write about my experience in Athens. Where shall I start?
I am a different man. I lost my couchsurfing virginity in Athens. Coachsurfing.com is a website where local people offer their couch to travelers to spend the night on. So you get to spend the night for free. But that is not the most important thing. The most important things for me was that complete strangers made me feel welcome in their country, their city and their house. For a guy that fears rejection that is a big deal.
I made a profile about a week ago and sent out two emails. In both cases I was welcome. My first host had a home cooked meal in the oven when I arrived at her place, my second host had invited a small group of friends to have a workshop in his house. Both of my hosts took me to the Akropolis, which was closed both times (insert Greek joke).
If I am ready to jump, are you ready to push?
As I said I feel terrified. The 14th of January, the moment of leaving Amsterdam to step into the unknown, comes closer and closer. While a large part of me just wants to hide under my bed for a year I handed over the lease of my apartment to a young friend of mine two days ago. So I have no bed anymore to hide under. The visa are in order. The video explaining the project is finished. Now I can only pray that things will work out. Please watch the video and let me know what you think.
What if?
The idea is great. I should venture into the world with an open heart, offer whatever I have to offer. Be it in writing articles, coaching people online or giving cool workshops wherever I go. Social media will be how the Universe manifests. You, my audience, can follow me and become involved. You can share my stuff, connect me with inspiring people, hire me or help. PayPal will offer the opportunity to make big or small donations. By constantly updating my site with new insights and adventures and you reading and sharing we will create a snowball. Good things will happen to when we start spreading goodness, this adventure will create its own momentum. That’s the theory.
But what if it doesn’t work? What if the whole Universe turns against me?
Fucking 40. Getting ready.
The start of the journey that I have been envisioning is getting closer. Everything I do is about preparation. I feel my focus increasing. As if I went over the tipping point. First I put the plan in my mind but large parts of my system were resisting. I felt fear, insecurity and denial. Often I felt paralysed. But it’s changing. More and more pockets of inner resistance are surrendering. It literally feels like my body, mind and spirit are getting ready. I need 3 things now. I need a small group of people who have the means, the vision and the trust that with their financial support we can create a book that is meaningful to a large audience and help many people in the process, I need a list of the most inspiring citizens of the countries I’m going to visit and I need like-minded connections in every new place to get me started there. If you want to help with any of these things: please do. I’m putting my life in the hands of the Universe, and the Universe, that’s you.
A sense of urgency
The tricky thing is: to awaken means to die first. If you are not prepared to die and are obsessed with your own survival don’t expect others to let go of their ideas about security and freedom.
My friend told me: “When the systems crash we need people like you. Because we will not fall back into the middle ages. We will have a developed society without guidance. We know what mechanisms brought us down. New forms of leadership will emerge. We need the warriors you are talking about. They have to show us a new paradigm for living. They have to show us how to live from the heart. That’s why we need you to go on your journey and that’s why we need your book.” You are not convinced? Let me illustrate it once again. Michael Franti performed on Occupy Amsterdam. He gave a free performance to the protesters. In the video below you see an interview with him where he voices to problems beautifully and eloquently. A true warrior he is, a man who united and not divides. Listen to him when he sings. And then pay special attention to the cheering of the protestors when the song is over. They are no different than the bankers that they react against. Let’s appreciate the complexity of the issues at hand. We must be willing to look at ourselves first before we judge the other. The sooner the better. Now.
A 21st Century Warrior
”Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
I have a dream
Perhaps the most beautiful thing about the spiritual journey is the we can start with a brand new canvas every day. (Ooh, that sounds good! Wait a minute, the narcissist in me needs to put this on my Basic Goodness Facebook page. It is posted. Now it just a matter of monitoring how many ‘likes’ it will receive.)
It is amazing. I have been postponing this moment for weeks. For some reason I felt reluctant to write, fearing lack of inspiration. And the moment I sit down it feels like coming home.
Letter from a survivor
Dear Anders Behring Breivik,
A lot of the friends I met at Utoya are dead and you are the perpetrator. You are the man who, by coincidence, didn’t kill me. I was lucky.
You might think that you have won. You might think that you have ruined something for the Labour Party and for people around the world who stand for a multicultural society by killing my friends and fellow party members.
Know that you have failed.
You haven’t only made the world stand together, you have set our souls on fire and should know we’ve never stood together as we do now. You talk about yourself as a hero, a knight. You are no hero. But you have created heroes. On Utoya that warm day in July, you created some of the greatest heroes the world has seen, you unified people from all over the world. Black and white, man and woman, red and blue, Christians and Muslims.
Is giving up on somebody the essence of human cowardice?
I am angry and I have an hour only. Let’s see if I can vent my anger with some speedblogging. What am I angry about? Today I met a young girl, around 20. We got into a conversation and I explained a little bit about what I do for a living. Helping people finding their path, executive coaching, life coaching, whatever you want to call it. Then she tells me that she is a lost case. She has been given up by her psychiatrist. (Pause here…). Now continue reading…
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