Saturday, June 17, 2006

The European Experience # 62

Thursday morning. It is raining. I am far from home. The bartender tells me so. Hearing it from someone else reminds me it is true. It is odd to drink beer before noon, but I am on holiday. These are the facts.
There is a different kind of lonely when so far from home. When at home friends are close but unavailable for company. Here, friends are so far removed (rather you are so far removed from them) that there is no other possibility than to be on your own. I am on my own. The woman on the train told me so yesterday. Hearing it from someone else reminds me it is true.
I am free. From any obligation. "The World is my oyster" Except I don't like oysters, even though they are an aphrodisiac. The world is mine to discover. Except that Christopher Columbus already finished that deed a long time ago. There is no innocent place left in the world. I still love the world. Oh world! offer me everything but ask nothing in return.
The longer I am away from home, the more I believe the world has already offered it's greatest gift. "Nothing unknown is knowable." So why go on searching? There is a difference between thinking something is true and knowing something is true. Why go on searching? Experiencing it reminds me it is true.

5 comments:

dancing girl said...

Discovery is never finished, even if someone else has done it before. Inventing, maybe.

Warrior Princesse Alathariel said...

Christopher Columbus discovered the location of a new land. Are you looking to discover land?

You can discover very unique things that no one else has discovered, things that have nothing to do with a map.

Anonymous said...

Stephen,

You are missed here too. Your absence makes us all a bit lonelier.

But your blog also brings us closer.
Paul

bedroomprince said...

Christopher Columbus discovered somewhere that someone else had already discovered. The Indians were already here, he just did'nt know about it. Christopher Columbus discovered something that already existed. It wasn't new, only to him and the rest of Europe. This trip is similar; I am figuring out things that are already here (within) but I just didn't know about them before hand.

artsmonkey said...

i love oysters. i also like the lonely feeling when away. it's better than the lonely feeling when not away. there's peace in it.
i'd like to go away.