morning rituals

i awake in the morning to the sound of goats outside my window.
i stumble out of bed and make my way to open the front door and the morning floods into my living room.
i step onto the veranda and i am greeted not just by the morning sun,
but also the sound of children preparing for school
and that of families who have been awake and buzzing for hours.

the goats have now migrated to the front yard.
i turn the radio on and the rhythms of jamaica encourage me to open my eyes.
i go to put on my morning coffee,
open the windows,
and before i know it the strong aroma has filled my house and leaked out into the yard.
as i exit, i come face-to-face with asha hanging in my kitchen window.

every morning it's the same...
she meets me at my kitchen window as she stands on the overhang.
she claims the smell of my coffee beckons her to come check me.
we chat about the morning,
the upcoming events of the day,
the night before,
sometimes about nothing important at all.

she attempts to cajole me into heading to school with her.
she always offers to stay behind and wait for me,
but generally she will say,
'later,'
head to school and expect me when i come.
these morning rituals have become a favorite moment of the day.

if i leave early enough,
i catch all the late stragglers heading to school late to avoid devotion.
if i leave late,
it's just the passing of neighbors and goats,
who are no longer phased as i jump over their tied ropes.
i stop to chat with a few of them and most of the time i lose track of the minutes...
'likkle more' i say and with that,
i'm back on my way;
down the mountain and off to school.

as soon as i reach the school yard,
i'm bombarded with 'maanin' teach, wagwaan miss kouns, arait mi boss, ...'
the infant students run to attack me and climb me like a jungle gym,
as i try to make my way to my grade six class,
and so the day begins and a new lesson unfolds itself...

the complete idiots guide to communicating with spirits, rita berkowitz

exchange is a process of giving and receiving.
just as you give your energy to others, you receive energy from others.
the strongest, most positive, most supportive energy is love.
when love thrives in any of it's multiple dimensions, energy blossoms.
love is the foundation of the universe's energy, and it's power is very real.
when you feel happy and good in the presence of someone else, you're drawing from an energy based in love.
it is this energy base, the energy of love, that heals.
when you feel it, you know it.
it recharges and replenishes you.
it restores your sense of well-being and happiness.
it makes you whole and unites all parts of your being.

'the complete idiots guide to communicating with spirits', rita berkowitz.

moving words from a friend

"i am not sure i ever told you that that afternoon i spoke with you was the first time i communicated so clearly with somebody's spirit and experience. it was something of inexplicable beauty and power for me, and something i wasn't quite sure , until then, was inside me..."

energy

life is a flowing energy.

we can have a great affect on people, life, the world and the universe with the type of energy we transmit.

in all things, be positive and uplifting...

you never know how it could affect you or others around you.

take risks. be bold. be happy.

is it really rewarding to live so safely?? be willing to take risks; for you could be missing out on life. break out of your comfort zones and the assured knowns. lose yourself in the unknown and the less traveled paths. make your own history and break the monotony. live every second as if it is your last. explore every square inch possible. ask every question you have. see all that life has to offer and try to live it, all; every, single moment. don't let others hold you back; instead, encourage them to do the same. it's the simple things in life and in the world we must seize and run with. don't get clouded by people or things around you. see the BIG picture.

skeptical in a free-loving world

i think being in jamaica has made even me more skeptical of relationships and commitment then i was previously. it's not so fair to say jamaica alone has altered my views, as it's a global issue and goes on every day in every town and city around the world, but since i have been living here for over a year i feel it's my only recent point of reference.

it's become a pretty popular and accepted cultural notion that people can have several partners, several baby mothers/fathers, and do this behind or, for those bold individuals, in front of their significant other. for the most part it bothers a lot of jamaicans, but it still happens. witnessing this and seeing it played out in front of me, whether through the eyes of my students or friends, has made me hesitant to think about love, commitment, much less a relationship.

i feel there's no point unless you just kill all your notions of love and become slightly desensitized. how does trust fall into place? ethics and morals flew out the window a long time, all around the globe. no one is phased by anything anymore. i'm all about freedom to live and love, but to the extent it doesn't start hurting other people, myself included.

the rise of love is beautiful and euphoric, but the fall is bone crushing and scarring. i guess it comes down to a game of chance and risk. many play the game well, despite their outcomes, i just don't see myself having too much success with the strategy.

so what does that mean for the future of relationships, love, commitment, families? are families just going to become a mix-up of several groups linked together through shared children? are relationships just going to become open-free, nonbonding, non-committed, passing flings? will love just disappear? or will it just be designated for your bloodline? it's happening, so you might as well start thinking about it and what this means for the future.

oh yes, happy birthday to me.. can't we pretend i'm still 21?

i am now a quarter of a century old.
damn.
life has flown past me as i've gotten up in age.
seems like when i passed from high-school everything accelerated.
i don't quite understand what happened through that transition?

i look back to when i graduated university.
it feels like a year ago, if that.
but in reality it's been 3 years.
3 years?!@ what?

sure i've done a lot in that short time,
but i don't see 3 years going by as if i merely blinked.
and now here, in jamaica, a year has passed like nothing.
only one year remains and that freaks me out.

i feel i have only just settled in.
i'm not ready to leave yet.
i have a life here.
i have people i care about
and people that care about me.

time is ridiculous.
this year i want a time machine for my birthday.
let me know if you can work something out.
thanks.