Flux
Monday, December 11th, 2006Well, Kristin tuk tuked to the airport this morning. After dirty tears and moping, I decided to spend an indulgent day of nothing much. We spent the last two days at the Angkor Wat Temples with a personal chauffeur, motoring our way between the most requisite sites. Hundreds of photos and many sweaty clothes later, I decided that today’s final visit could be solely about finding spontaneous spots for stillness. I rented a bicycle and worked my way around slowly, barely out-pedaling the many peddlers. I decided to let my shutter finger take up new exercise—turning pages, sketching, journaling, and pulling my body up comically steep steps. It truly is a magical place. Unseen bugs shriek in soprano, jungle trees line the roads and hug the stones. It’s easy to imagine how majestical it was “in its day” as it still retains amazing beauty in carved rubble, centuries-old topless women, lichen-licked elephants, and the ever-smiling Buddhas.
Sometime during my manually-cranked musings, I had a really deep thought: Life is a meal. It has courses, includes staples that our body and soul need, indulgences for our senses. What’s available changes, but so does what we want. If you insist on your favorites every day (spring rolls, mango shakes), you are setting yourself up for disappointment (never the same) or boredom (often the same). So, here I sit, flavors of my travels changing often. I will continue to savor, chew, and swallow what I can, even while missing my recent dining companion.
bimpy_ak