A photo I took of a Salvador Dali painting at the museum in Figueres, Spain. So much of his work was based around his lover Gala - it was romantic to see what an influence she was on his mind. And every painting didn't seem like a longing or even a happiness of her/with her, but rather an extreme adoration for her.
Friday, March 30, 2007
ART OF THE DAY
A photo I took of a Salvador Dali painting at the museum in Figueres, Spain. So much of his work was based around his lover Gala - it was romantic to see what an influence she was on his mind. And every painting didn't seem like a longing or even a happiness of her/with her, but rather an extreme adoration for her.
THE CALMING OF THE STORM
One of the friends I was visiting on this past trip to Spain is an ex-girlfriend from several years ago. The extent of our conversation over the past two years has consisted solely of 6 e-mails.
After I arrived and we settled in for a few drinks she told me about how she warned all her roommates and friends that we would probably argue and fight the entire time I was visiting. That thought had never crossed my mind.
We ended up having such a great time that she made me come back for one last night before I left Spain for home. She remarked that I had changed so much since we dated. I disagree. I think we both are pretty much the same, just more comfortable with ourselves...which has calmed us.
I realized how much of a reaction we are capable of having strictly out of feeling uncomfortable. For instance, I always considered myself (as other did as well) an angry person when I was younger. I would get riled up fairly easily in a debate and took very hard-nosed stances on topics. I never backed down, instead I would escalate. In retrospect it may have been a little less pure anger and more of a reaction to unwanted confrontation (probably a mix actually). A self-defense mechanism. With age I think I've gotten more comfortable with myself and my outlooks thus lessening my reactions to circumstances. A calming.
I'm not going to get into it now but for tomorrow's post I want to talk about this "calming" as possibly being an acceptance of life which induces less "seeking" which could be a bad thing...maybe...or not...
Stay tuned...
After I arrived and we settled in for a few drinks she told me about how she warned all her roommates and friends that we would probably argue and fight the entire time I was visiting. That thought had never crossed my mind.
We ended up having such a great time that she made me come back for one last night before I left Spain for home. She remarked that I had changed so much since we dated. I disagree. I think we both are pretty much the same, just more comfortable with ourselves...which has calmed us.
I realized how much of a reaction we are capable of having strictly out of feeling uncomfortable. For instance, I always considered myself (as other did as well) an angry person when I was younger. I would get riled up fairly easily in a debate and took very hard-nosed stances on topics. I never backed down, instead I would escalate. In retrospect it may have been a little less pure anger and more of a reaction to unwanted confrontation (probably a mix actually). A self-defense mechanism. With age I think I've gotten more comfortable with myself and my outlooks thus lessening my reactions to circumstances. A calming.
I'm not going to get into it now but for tomorrow's post I want to talk about this "calming" as possibly being an acceptance of life which induces less "seeking" which could be a bad thing...maybe...or not...
Stay tuned...
Thursday, March 29, 2007
ART OF THE DAY
I love this photo - hope it doesn't come out too dark. It's a priest in the St. James Cathedral in Santaigo Spain (St. James remains are buried there - he was beheaded in the year 44). On the lower-right hand side you can see the shoes of a woman confessing her sins. It looks kind of spooky, no?
FOUND GUILTY ON ALL ACCOUNTS!
In keeping with the theme of this blog I'm going to speak mostly about any revelations or insights I had during my travels across Spain.
So I'm going to start at the top - on a personal level, what was this trip about? First I have to say that I THOUGHT this trip was going to be an introspection into the topics I wrote about in this blog prior to leaving - emotional security and self esteem to name two. In reality it ended up being something very different. For me, this trip ended up being a retrospection on my life...all of it.
We'll start in Madrid where one evening my friend Katie and I were drinking many beers and talking about, well, everything. At one point she turned to me and said, "you have a tremendous amount of guilt. What for?" I said she was correct, I do have a lot of guilt but I don't know why. I know that I'm sorry for many things I've done in the past but it doesn't add up to the intense feeling of guilt I've always felt (the Catholic curse?...).
From there we'll head to Valencia where I had been thinking about this guilt thing and trying to understand not only where it came from but also how to end it - or at least find a better way of living with it. I was walking around Valencia when I came upon a young guy playing the guitar in the street. I recognized the song but it took me a moment to realize what it was as he was singing it in Spanish. The song was Wonderwall by Oasis which has a special meaning to me concerning a past girlfriend. It's also the relationship from my past with the most guilt attached to it. That really got me thinking. That night I laid down in bed thinking about the day's activities and I began having visions of experiences from my past. It was unbelievable - I was remembering things I never thought I'd ever remember. A few examples: My first memory ever - crawling around the house with my mother at the kitchen sink (I must have been 1 year old), another was sitting on the stairs of our house as a child crying because our cat tore half its ear off, and another of a girl in high school that I never said a word to but had a crush on (I don't think I've thought about her since I graduated high school). The rest of the trip I was reminiscing on my past and I didn't seem to be skipping anything. Some of the memories were happy and some were sad but I was thinking about things I didn't think my brain held on to anymore. It was a freeing experience.
I'll end this post with a quote from my travel journal I was keeping as I traveled around Spain: "This trip, for me, was a deep retrospection into my life. If for no other reason it has planted a more secure calm within me for one can't look back at their experiences with intense remembrance indicating patterns and paths without feeling an ease as to fates unaltering role in our existence."
So I'm going to start at the top - on a personal level, what was this trip about? First I have to say that I THOUGHT this trip was going to be an introspection into the topics I wrote about in this blog prior to leaving - emotional security and self esteem to name two. In reality it ended up being something very different. For me, this trip ended up being a retrospection on my life...all of it.
We'll start in Madrid where one evening my friend Katie and I were drinking many beers and talking about, well, everything. At one point she turned to me and said, "you have a tremendous amount of guilt. What for?" I said she was correct, I do have a lot of guilt but I don't know why. I know that I'm sorry for many things I've done in the past but it doesn't add up to the intense feeling of guilt I've always felt (the Catholic curse?...).
From there we'll head to Valencia where I had been thinking about this guilt thing and trying to understand not only where it came from but also how to end it - or at least find a better way of living with it. I was walking around Valencia when I came upon a young guy playing the guitar in the street. I recognized the song but it took me a moment to realize what it was as he was singing it in Spanish. The song was Wonderwall by Oasis which has a special meaning to me concerning a past girlfriend. It's also the relationship from my past with the most guilt attached to it. That really got me thinking. That night I laid down in bed thinking about the day's activities and I began having visions of experiences from my past. It was unbelievable - I was remembering things I never thought I'd ever remember. A few examples: My first memory ever - crawling around the house with my mother at the kitchen sink (I must have been 1 year old), another was sitting on the stairs of our house as a child crying because our cat tore half its ear off, and another of a girl in high school that I never said a word to but had a crush on (I don't think I've thought about her since I graduated high school). The rest of the trip I was reminiscing on my past and I didn't seem to be skipping anything. Some of the memories were happy and some were sad but I was thinking about things I didn't think my brain held on to anymore. It was a freeing experience.
I'll end this post with a quote from my travel journal I was keeping as I traveled around Spain: "This trip, for me, was a deep retrospection into my life. If for no other reason it has planted a more secure calm within me for one can't look back at their experiences with intense remembrance indicating patterns and paths without feeling an ease as to fates unaltering role in our existence."
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
It was Spaintastic!
I'm back! I arrived at JFK yesterday afternoon. For as wonderful as the trip to Spain was for me, I was excited to arrive home. A month is a long time to be gone.
I will be spending today catching up on mail, bills and laundry, as well as beginning the process of sorting through the 500 pictures I took.
Here is the order of stops on my trip: Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, Valencia, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Santiago, Salamanca, Madrid, and home. Even the locals were jealous of my trip as I have now seen more of Spain than most of them!
Spain is such an interesting country because it is so different from one place to the next. Even the language changes drastically from one section of the country to the next. All in all though, I have to say that the most interesting reality for me was how similar people are. I expected some major cultural shocks when living and dealing with the people of Spain and I couldn't have been more wrong. In the end, people are people and, other than the language barrier, I was made to feel comfortable most everywhere I traveled.
Today's post is going to be a short one as I have a lot of catching up to do on the things previously mentioned. But stay tuned...I have plenty of topics to write about in this blog in the coming weeks. Obviously this trip was very impactful to me, but in a way very VERY different from what I expected. More on that coming up...
I'm revived, refreshed and energetic - ready for a great summer ahead (it's 70 degrees here today!).
I will be spending today catching up on mail, bills and laundry, as well as beginning the process of sorting through the 500 pictures I took.
Here is the order of stops on my trip: Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, Valencia, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Santiago, Salamanca, Madrid, and home. Even the locals were jealous of my trip as I have now seen more of Spain than most of them!
Spain is such an interesting country because it is so different from one place to the next. Even the language changes drastically from one section of the country to the next. All in all though, I have to say that the most interesting reality for me was how similar people are. I expected some major cultural shocks when living and dealing with the people of Spain and I couldn't have been more wrong. In the end, people are people and, other than the language barrier, I was made to feel comfortable most everywhere I traveled.
Today's post is going to be a short one as I have a lot of catching up to do on the things previously mentioned. But stay tuned...I have plenty of topics to write about in this blog in the coming weeks. Obviously this trip was very impactful to me, but in a way very VERY different from what I expected. More on that coming up...
I'm revived, refreshed and energetic - ready for a great summer ahead (it's 70 degrees here today!).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)