Contemplating Nature

In theory things can be perfectly organized. Take my and my sweetheart's anniversary.

I came up with the idea not only to celebrate it, but to take the time to enjoy and rejoice our love. So, we booked a room in one of our favourite hotels (http://www.hoteloverbosch.nl/index.php?mod=home) and reserved the private spa area (sauna, jacuzzi, steambath - the works) for two hours.

The picture in my mind was as follows:

I would return home after a 4 hour work day, have time to play with our two love birds (my "kids", really), start packing for the overnight stay at the hotel, jump into the car and relaxation would commence. A good plan. In theory...

But then reality kicks in.

I started the day with a headache, and was home later than anticipated. When I walked in the door, my sweetie reported that the roads were already filling up with traffic. Result: it would take us longer to get to the hotel, thus the spa reserved for 5 pm needed to be rescheduled. (Fortunately, relief was only a phone call away. The hotel told us this was no problem at all.)

So, after spending some time with our two love birds, and throwing my stuff in the suitcase - off we went. It took us two hours to be were we wanted to be, but we didn't mind. We intended to enjoy this weekend, and boy did we!

The spa was one breath of relexation. Water-warmth-us. The perfect combination.

Diner tickled our tongues.

Crispy bread dipped in olive oil. The salton sea residing in the shrimps - a welcoming addition to the tomato broth. The side dish that skirt our senses. Amazing how something can appear to be a mushroom, but in fact is a potato. Thanks to the carving skills of our chef.

Exquisite cooking mixed with elements of surprise - a feast for my taste buds!

Not only did we enjoy ourselves during our little get-away, it also created time for contemplation. My contemplation.

What is important to me?

We can't just go on destroying this world.

Are we really heading for a higher awareness?

Is love really all there is?

Recently we experienced in full force how destructing nuclear power can be. It's a disaster on a grand scale. We really can't imagine what it will do to our near or not so near future. What has it done to the people near the plant? We only hear the words "nuclear disaster" or "Fukushima", and we know that there are people who put their lives in jeopardy just to try to keep the damage as low as humanly possible. But until it is our close friend, family member, sweetheart, we really don't know what they are going through, do we?

And what is it going to do to the sea, and its inhabitants? What is the impact on our (vulnerable) planet? We really can't tell yet, but it does break my heart.

This made me think about the Maya prediction for December 2012. There are two interpretations: the "world is coming to an end" scenario, or the "spiritual transformation" one.

You can easily say: "this thing happening in Japan is an omen to what's going to happen in 2012". It's doom approaching.

Or... is there another way to look at it?

Lots has happened to the world the last couple of months. Take the uprising of the people of Egypt, Syria, Libia. Was their discomfort already cooking to a boiling point, and did the pot just run over? Or... Is this the shift of consciousness the Mayas talked about? See Wikipea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon) for more information about this phenomenon.

And while we are on the subject of transformation: can empathy, sympathy, and courage be the answer to the question "what ís transformation"? Can our choices be the food for love?

Is love what makes our heart tick? (Literally.) Or is it a survival mechanism (because we need to reproduce)? A way to cope with destruction? An escape from reality?

All I know is that I like to be loved. That I love to love. To love you. Because you matter.

So - love matters.

I love to believe that - even when power or money seems to make the world go around - in the end love is the key to the survival of this planet. Maybe it's naive. But take a bucket of naive thinking, and somewhere along the line something beautiful can be the key to what has been locked up for a long time.

We look for answers to matters we do not yet understand. But isn't comprehension an elastic concept? Which can only be revealed in time? As Albert Einstein has put it:

"The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is all comprehensible."

Dare to be incomprehensible, I'd say. Because "The extraordinary is the ordinary, seen is all its glory." - Philip Levine

Here's extaordinary in the ordinary:

Expect the unexpected.

Love,

San