Procrastinate–
: to put off intentionally and habitually.
Sound familiar?
This has been a recurring word when I think about the blog. However, now that life has a bit more stability and regularity (AND I had my first full day off of work yesterday in just over 2 weeks) I have the time to catch up on some things.
So, Greece was obviously amazing. When I think back on the hesitations I had before going there, I laugh. The majority of my posts from Corfu are about how loving, kind, and incredible the people there are and I want to reiterate that fact. Of course I anticipated making friends but I don’t think I ever could have imagined the quality of these friendships. Time was an irrelevant element; a magic I believe the island itself manifests in several ways.
Without force, without hesitations, without skepticism, and within literally hours, I made some of the greatest friends I have ever made in my life. All of my assumptions of time being the only factor in cogent friendships was proven wrong.
I have a strong image of the way children meet each other. There is a curiosity and awkward dance of sharing between children who meet for the first time. There are no conversations to get ‘to know’ the stranger, and common ground is usually found through games, toys, or fantasy. The break in shyness is so immediate that you would think they had known each other for a long time.
Corfu was our playground, toy, and fantasy. The commonality was the fact that we all wanted to experience everything the island had to offer. Maybe it was this shared love for our surrounding that made us immediately respect each other.
Two months later, I am still in awe of the genuineness of these friendships! It makes it even more justified that for the past two months since I left Corfu, there has not been one day without a message or conversation from my fellow Window Talkers.
The way of acceptance, love, and anticipation that friends of many years possess are obtainable during the duration of our lives. What an exciting realization! This magical and rare experience I am forever grateful for.
Right now I am back in Dallas, working two jobs and doing my thing; work, work, work, save, save, save, travel, travel, travel, and then repeat. I guess it is obvious this is becoming a pattern. There are still no plans, no assumptions, no idea of what exactly I want for the future but I like it that way. I know what I want right now and that is all I can work towards.
Corfu has also been an easy excuse for me to procrastinate in other ways. I long for my life in Corfu. However, if I cannot be happy where I am, how could I be living in the wisdom Corfu gave me? I have to constantly be ‘living,’ no matter where I am. I have to constantly be curious of strangers, I have to constantly be in search of new adventures, I have to constantly be learning. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that Dallas is filled with adventures and fun! IE Boatapolousa, Mexican night clubs, Bingo Halls, concerts, cocktail-y things, family nights, and late night/early morning amazing conversations.
This weekend I took my Corfu wisdom to full effect. Yesterday was the wedding shower for my cousin Alex and his fiance, Becky, in Arkansas at Lake Ouachita. Another treasured family haunt. I had resigned to the fact I wouldn’t be able to take off work. The usual excuses ran through my mind; I can’t afford it, I can’t take off work, and if I tried to take off work, it would be a long hassle getting my shifts covered. However, Friday morning something came over me and I had an overwhelming desire to be with my family. I scrambled, pulled strings, bribed people, and luckily worked everything out to be able to go.
It is important for me to maintain a balance of my priorities. Absolutely I can work towards my goal and initiate a substantial life at the same time! Right?! Taking two days off to be able to come to this beautiful, heavenly place to be with my wild and crazy family, who I love more than anything, should be a given.
The hard part is already over. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve had to save money to travel. Maybe I won’t be able to leave when I want to, maybe my destination will change.
Who knows?
I like staying open. If something comes along and grabs me, I’m going to take it. That is how I’ve always done it. That is why it works for me. That is why I always seem to find myself surrounded by exceptional people.
All I have is right now. This moment. And I’m going to make the most of it.
Zorba's Caravan 