I sometimes feel in song. Not my own, but songs that I’ve at some point listened to and relate to at certain times. This is one of those times, and I can’t seem to get this song out of my head:
“Saying goodbye, why is it sad?
Makes us remember the good times we’ve had
Much more to say, foolish to try
It’s time for saying goodbye.”
Today we left Morocco. In many ways I feel like I am leaving pieces of me behind, but carrying with me a new set of values and perspectives on life. It was an emotional moment, but I will not ramble on more about those, let’s move onwards to Spain—Andalusia, Spain.
Andalusia is the southern-most autonomous community of continental Spain. The area has been influenced by the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans and heavily by their Islamic and Christian conquerors. It is sometimes referred to as Moorish-Spain which makes Andalusia the perfect transition from Morocco to European Spain. Flamenco dancing and bullfighting are thought to be Andalusian in origin.
Something about the stars fills me with wonder. Just like it did to philosophers like Galileo and Copernicus. Not that I mean to consider myself akin to these great philosophers, but that throughout history, humankind has looked to the sky with questions on religion, science, mathematics and our existence on our small, seemingly insignificant planet.
It’s very easy to make yourself comfortable. And once achieved, comfort can keep you nestled safely, quietly whispering into your ear assurances that things will never change. But one of the beauties of life is that it forces you to change, pushes you out of your comfort zones and throws challenge after challenge, molding you into an adaptable being. But too often, we shy away from change, we face what we must and settle into our little comfortable shells, praying that the next change will be far, far away.
I’ve always wanted to see the world. As a child, I read about all those wonderful far-off places and their histories, cultures and customs. I remember thinking that it was all some part of a fairy tale. “Surely the world ends beyond the shores of my country?” I remember thinking. Little did I understand of the vastness and richness that lay beyond my 238 square miles of land.
I have seen a lot of the world since then, and each time I visit somewhere new, my comfort zone expands. My thoughts and views evolve into a philosophy about our wonderful planet and (sometimes wonderful, sometimes not-so-wonderful) people. I love seeing new places because it gives me a chance to be part of a culture that I may have never otherwise known. It gives me a chance to be a child of the world and not just of the piece of land I grew up on.
