Those who dream are resourceful and those who are resourceful make their dreams a reality

Friday 7 August 2015

C h i c a G O :


Chicago, Illinois (the loop) 

July 20 - 23, 2015

Hustle and bustle in the loop that wraps around its heart. Eat a deep dish pizza. Listen to some smooth jazz in the park and break your reverie, look up. 

It's a classy city of neighborhoods with the business district booming and all empowering.

... for those who make it, that is.

South of the loop may as well be another world. Crime statistics vary street by street and the standard of living significantly less. Ancient houses stand uninviting next to yellow fields of dead hope. Sidewalks cracked and deserted. Men stand along the train line in shadow of their fathers who stood not too long ago. A cloud of smoke from lighted cigarettes cover brick faces of teenagers that have never seen better days. Rap is the voice of the community. A pulse of suffering and poverty, something that understands this world.

I walked the streets in the comfort of my boyfriend's presence, his hand in mine and my heart next to his. The day was scorching and the sun unrelentingly beating my forehead and shoulders. It's a day I'll never forget.

Chicago, the loop, a near suburb, is the place my boyfriend and I will call home for the next two years. Not the south. As controversial and depressing as the south may be, I felt inspired. Inspired to keep on changing this world through love, empathy, understanding and compassion. The first step to understanding is empathy and the action is change.

What I had seen is exactly what I am changing. I am learning more about myself and pushing myself to grow more so I can help others. Why? Because people matter. What we do matters.

Chicago is my future home. And the lights, a reflection of radical hope.


Tuesday 4 August 2015

To the Sea

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
July 10 - 12, 2015

Grainy sand between gold painted toes. Shoulders bronzed and kissed.
I sit on the beach, my partner right beside. I scan the raw terrain, critically then softly all at once.

I try and understand the overgrown weeds, the rocky low cliffs and the discolored sea. I see the imperfection and ever more embrace.

Nature is not about perfection but the flaws that make it beautiful. It is why we seek the unusual. The "out of place" that explains the rules or the ordinary.

Monterey is not a white beach. It's no Bondi. It's no Manly. It is a city that rests on rugged coast. The beautiful found in the distorted and twisted.

The choice, to see all. Experience all for what is and perceive through the power of refocus.

I looked to the sea. What I found is what I'm still finding.

Metaphorical? Yes.
Annoying? Maybe.
Truthful? Honestly so.
The Jellies Experience (special edition), Monterey Bay Aquarium