Pouring in Paradise

26 Jul'10 - Chalong Bay, Phuket. Photo by S. Kern (Lifted from Facebook).

27 July 2010 - Phuket, Thailand.

It’s been raining and I’ve been packing.

I'm crawling through the sludgy sadness of leaving Phuket, but then [bxA] emails from Beirut get me excited to go there again.

Still, transition is not exactly easy. Alyssa and I call it the slumps. Reminds me of that camel I learned about at the ashram – the one that carries our karma to the next place while we fly too quickly on airplanes. This is another great reason to sail.

19 September 2009 – Lebanon. House where we did 108 sun salutations.

One of the emails from Beirut came from a friend I met at a yoga thing in the mountains doing 108 sun salutations for peace. Her email said, “I have a running mental list of ‘must ask Ali’ questions, which includes everything from the meaning of life to what sort of suitcase is best for world travels.” Oh dear. I was hoping she could tell me.

I suspect the answer is the same for both: travel light.

2 Jun'09 – Jbeil, Lebanon. Alyssa’s and my stuff accumulated at beach flat.

Everyone knows I don’t know how to do this – literally or figuratively.

13 September 2009 – House party in Beirut where I met Sandra.

Thus, I emailed Sandra, another great friend I met in Beirut – the one who rightly told me not to buy the return airplane ticket. We hadn’t connected in ages when I wrote her a couple weeks ago:

“I desperately need some of your mojo! I'm packing up my house in Phuket to head to Beirut for about 3 weeks. I am such a clutter bug, Sandra. It is shocking. I could give you examples but you would think I'm insane. If you can spare a few moments to give me some guidance on packing, moving and the absurdity of saving things, I would be forever grateful.”

The first line of her reply was:

“The only thing worth saving is yourself.”

Hmmm. Okay, sure. It sounds logical. Doable. I only need to save myself…

July 2010 – Phuket Packing.

…and my Sivananda yoga book, book bag and t-shirt …and the Williams windbreaker that kept me warm during night watches for three months on sailboats …and the world map Alyssa & her mum covered in hilarious post-it notes…and my King’s Cup shirt …and the beautiful kurti Dipti gave me in Chandigarh…and the two Phuket magazines I’m in…and the Panto poster someone had the cast sign for me since it was my ‘acting debut’…and a stack of handwritten journals…and…and…and…

Sandra meant I should save myself and all these things, right?