I've been told that each year around this time, the East Wind comes to the coast of Namibia. A strong wind that blows mountains of sand from the East across the coastline to the edge of the sea. It turns your house into a sand castle and the air into a scene from Arabian Nights. All you need is a few camels, and we've got those too, for the price of 30 USD per ride.
(I just made up that price. Sue me.)
The wind thrashes it's surroundings, but the heat stays put. An effect that mimics putting your entire body under a colossal bathroom hand dryer that has been filled with contents of the 1930s American Dust Bowl.
Having lived in Kunene for a year, I'm accustomed to dust storms, but that doesn't make them any more enjoyable.
Wanting to avoid the weather on my doorstep, but tired of looking at the inside of our apartment, I have relocated to a nearby hotel for a coffee.
A change of scenery always helps to put me in a better frame of mind.
As I futz around with the plumes of milk billowing about in my coffee cup, I realize that principle applies to my life on a much grander scale. Change is an integral part of what makes my life the marvelous thing it is.
I hope it's like that for most people.
Change often makes me perform at my best, new environments tickle my senses, new experiences, regardless of difficulty or level of success, make me grow. Challenging myself in this way is what makes me feel at ease with myself. Even if I bitch and moan a bit. Going through the motions, although often necessary to be a responsible human being, makes me feel deconstructive, stressed, anxious, etc.. Until I give myself a mental slap and get a grip, of course.
But really, what is the point of living if you know everything you want to know and have done everything that you want to do before the age of 50. Where is the hunger to do more, learn more?
If I have one goal in life, it is, for the rest of my years, to keep thinking about change as a possibility rather than some scary monster that is out to disrupt my way of life.
That is not to say that I don't appreciate consistency. I have constants in my life that are often my saving grace. These Constants keep me grounded and push me to go further at the same time.
Except for bills.
Those are constants that, although they keep me grounded, they do not push me to go further. Unless it is off a fiscal cliff.
Because I like moving around and very few of my material items, with a few exceptions, have serious value to me (This is not a Buddhist revelation. I have always been like this. In fact, since I was young, I used to give away my allowance and possessions like they were peanuts at a baseball game. Its weird, and I really couldn't tell you why.), my Constants are the people I love, and always will love. And I hope they know who they are.
I suppose you could call me a free spirit, although I don't much like that phrase. I can be a handful. I look at the big picture, but sometimes forget the details. I make decisions about my life that aren't always practical (but usually not rash, and, by this point in my life, hardly ever naive), and I get itchy when I am in any routine for too long.
Believe me, I know it's a seemingly silly way to live. Not very functional. Some people do not understand it. But it is the way I am. Thus far, I cannot turn it off.
But it always turns out ok. Sometimes it even turns out to be the new best decision of my life.
My love of new experiences, both good and bad, and my love of embracing change is one thing I don't think will ever change. I need it as much as I need corrective eyewear, and that is a lot. However, I manage to execute this need in a way that is as haphazard and annoying to those around me as this East Wind, at present rattling the window behind me. Sometimes it is just as much of an annoyance to me.
And for that I am sorry.
To all my Constants out there, no matter how close or far in distance to me you currently are,
I love you.
I love to be around you. I would love for you to share my spontaneous adventures with me.
And I hope you know that even though I am a crazy person whom at this moment has a sudden urge to both go organic farming in Ireland and paint a delightful mural on the beige walls of this hotel, maybe some brightly-colored sea creatures, you might keep tolerating that insanity. Because as much as I need adventure, challenge, and corrective eyewear, I need you.
And I mean, we are all a bit insane, are we not?
Though not as insane as the fact that I can feel my eyebrow hair blowing in the wind when I walk outside.
Much love,
Your friendly neighborhood Blogger
(I just made up that price. Sue me.)
The wind thrashes it's surroundings, but the heat stays put. An effect that mimics putting your entire body under a colossal bathroom hand dryer that has been filled with contents of the 1930s American Dust Bowl.
 |
| the wind's aftereffect on my street, once asphalt and concrete |
Having lived in Kunene for a year, I'm accustomed to dust storms, but that doesn't make them any more enjoyable.
Wanting to avoid the weather on my doorstep, but tired of looking at the inside of our apartment, I have relocated to a nearby hotel for a coffee.
A change of scenery always helps to put me in a better frame of mind.
As I futz around with the plumes of milk billowing about in my coffee cup, I realize that principle applies to my life on a much grander scale. Change is an integral part of what makes my life the marvelous thing it is.
I hope it's like that for most people.
Change often makes me perform at my best, new environments tickle my senses, new experiences, regardless of difficulty or level of success, make me grow. Challenging myself in this way is what makes me feel at ease with myself. Even if I bitch and moan a bit. Going through the motions, although often necessary to be a responsible human being, makes me feel deconstructive, stressed, anxious, etc.. Until I give myself a mental slap and get a grip, of course.
But really, what is the point of living if you know everything you want to know and have done everything that you want to do before the age of 50. Where is the hunger to do more, learn more?
If I have one goal in life, it is, for the rest of my years, to keep thinking about change as a possibility rather than some scary monster that is out to disrupt my way of life.
That is not to say that I don't appreciate consistency. I have constants in my life that are often my saving grace. These Constants keep me grounded and push me to go further at the same time.
Except for bills.
Those are constants that, although they keep me grounded, they do not push me to go further. Unless it is off a fiscal cliff.
Because I like moving around and very few of my material items, with a few exceptions, have serious value to me (This is not a Buddhist revelation. I have always been like this. In fact, since I was young, I used to give away my allowance and possessions like they were peanuts at a baseball game. Its weird, and I really couldn't tell you why.), my Constants are the people I love, and always will love. And I hope they know who they are.
I suppose you could call me a free spirit, although I don't much like that phrase. I can be a handful. I look at the big picture, but sometimes forget the details. I make decisions about my life that aren't always practical (but usually not rash, and, by this point in my life, hardly ever naive), and I get itchy when I am in any routine for too long.
Believe me, I know it's a seemingly silly way to live. Not very functional. Some people do not understand it. But it is the way I am. Thus far, I cannot turn it off.
But it always turns out ok. Sometimes it even turns out to be the new best decision of my life.
My love of new experiences, both good and bad, and my love of embracing change is one thing I don't think will ever change. I need it as much as I need corrective eyewear, and that is a lot. However, I manage to execute this need in a way that is as haphazard and annoying to those around me as this East Wind, at present rattling the window behind me. Sometimes it is just as much of an annoyance to me.
And for that I am sorry.
To all my Constants out there, no matter how close or far in distance to me you currently are,
I love you.
I love to be around you. I would love for you to share my spontaneous adventures with me.
And I hope you know that even though I am a crazy person whom at this moment has a sudden urge to both go organic farming in Ireland and paint a delightful mural on the beige walls of this hotel, maybe some brightly-colored sea creatures, you might keep tolerating that insanity. Because as much as I need adventure, challenge, and corrective eyewear, I need you.
And I mean, we are all a bit insane, are we not?
Though not as insane as the fact that I can feel my eyebrow hair blowing in the wind when I walk outside.
Much love,
Your friendly neighborhood Blogger
