Beaches and Airports

Beaches and airports are my favourite spots to be, they are like that part of the world that humans can’t inhabit and corrupt. The most valuable spots…Its funny, all of my uni choices were by the coast, Brighton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Bristol and (I withdrew my application from Bath). Its like being by the coast represents that escape for me, to be able to look out over the sea at where I can be, but where I can’t at the same time…its a paradox. I can get through the sea, so in that manner we have conquered it, but we have no control over it, we are absolutely at its mercy. It is mesmerizing, and lethal at the same time. It is the elixir of life, and the most terrible cause of death at the same time. Airports are the gateway to the sky, to freedom. They represent the ability to disregard the rules of nature and fly to any given destination, assuming the form of a bird…we can make it across the world in superhuman times. But we cannot exist in the sky without airports and planes…we need them. Its interesting, beaches represent that same freedom…On a summers day, when we suddenly feel stress free, and we realize that we as humans are free to go where we please, where do we flock? to the sea, to gaze in awe and wonder at that expanse we have no control over…we dip our feet in, even swim in it…but we know we cannot remain in it forever. In winter, when we are stressed, and it is cold outside, what do we yearn to do? fly away, go to somewhere where we can all gather again my the feet of the sea and in a way, worship it…it is more powerful than us, we are at its mercy, but we still love and adore it.

I personally had to get away to the sea for uni, being in a cosmopolitan city is amazing, but it can have this muffling effect. We all learn to shut out sounds, to concentrate on the priority, reaching our destination. Music is a cerebral catalyst, plug in and go…and before we know it, we have passed by the most amazing and interesting characters, but have spent little or no time taking them in. I don’t want to get trapped in that perpetual glass box that so many city slickers have grown up in…not even wondering or caring about the world around them. Its like they are surrounded by mirrors and when they look out, they see reflections of themselves, leading them to be comforted by the mirage that they are in a world surrounded by those just like themselves. This is like their security.
I need to learn to see and appreciate the sun rise, and to have that fresh sea breeze hit my face every morning. To not have to descend into the depths of the underground just to get to my class, but rather to walk, or ride my bike…go back to nature in a sense. I think we lose appreciation for the most important aspects of life when we are crammed into that concrete jungle 24/7. The CO2 is so dense we can barely see the beauty of the sky at night, and we can never witness the sun dipping at the end of the day…we just see those confirmatory shadows stretching out to the east, reminding us that the source of our life is dipping out to the west. I think our thoughts also get clouded…how can you hear that small voice inside your head, when there are so many voices screaming at you in every form, from electronic media, to billboards and street preachers. How do you work out what your values are when it is instilled in you from a young age to ignore your surroundings rather than interact? I think spending this time outside the fast life of the city will help round me as a person. Teach me how to make better use of those 24 hours granted to me daily, and help me to realize who I really am.

Long walks with myself and my shadow as my mind and my conscience interact with the natural world…As I become an Alchemist.

Beaches and Airports…the best places

Ray Fiasco

p.s. if you haven’t read the alchemist. GO READ THE ALCHEMIST.