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by PAM
Did you miss me? :)
Sorry, been busy... uhm, relaxing. Emphasis on the 'relaxing' rather than the 'busy' part, mind you. Yep, I know the meaning of the word 'relaxing', too, believe it or... don't! :)
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| Soul vacay with soulful people. |
So, yeah, you joke around, sing at the top of your soul, eat like there's no tomorrow, shop cheap, and talk non-sense with really nice, humble people all weekend long... and your awareness of how wonderful this life is transcends mere knowing, it becomes true conviction. Uhm-hmm, yeah, that's experience talkin' right there, my friend!
Yep, I had a chance to spend a couple of days away from that tiring den of bulging egos, and it was awesome! :) Then again, "that den" doesn't necessarily have to be dominated by a few bulging egos... we have wonderful people - humble, productive, sincerely focused on serving, and serving well. I had a chance to bond with 35 of them for two days, and it energized me tremendously. We did nothing but talk... 'talk like April' - warm, sparklingly light, cheerful, and relaxed. For the first time in many days, I didn't have to pay too much attention on what I had to say or do... no one was waiting for me to err so they could have a chance to pounce or berate me like it was a precious prize to be able to do so, no one was thinking I'm too lucky that a killer whale should swallow me alive, no one was secretly wishing I'd drop dead. :) It was blissful! Whew! :)
This life is teeming with good things, good people and good deeds. I'm lucky to be working with so many incredible souls... soulful beings - pure, real, sincere and honest. Or, perhaps, I'm lucky that I learned to focus on them rather than on those who think so highly of themselves... those who take it their mission in life to ruin our day - every single day - with unabashed conceit and unbriddled selfishness. I'm lucky I've learned how to put them on the faded area of my peripheral vision, so they don't count... much. Ah, life is good... thank you, oh, Lord!
Here's a little remnant from that uplifting 'soulful vacay'...
"A hundred days have made me older... a thousand lies have made me colder,
and I don't think I can look at this the same."
For as long as the good outweighs the bad, and more good people than bad surround me, this is all worth it. Therefore, we proceed... vamos!
Did you say 'vamos'?
I had a chance tor see the Monte Carlo segment of the ATP Masters 1000 series, where Novak Djokovic dethroned the long-time champ, Rafael Nadal in a straight-set win, 6-2, 7-6 (7/1).
Okay, so I'm a hardcore Roger Federer fan, but while I've always been a Djoker believer, I've always been a Nadal admirer, too. Therefore, seeing Rafa lose that tournament made me feel sad. It was the end of the Spaniard's 46-match winning run in MC... kinda bitter-sweet day for a tennis fan - the end of one great player's reign, the beginning of another great player's reign in that little clay kingdom of Monte Carlo.
Coming back from a long hiatus because of knee injury, Nadal looked a bit rusty. I know, it used to be unimaginable to think of 'rusty' and Nadal in one sentence a few years back. Now, however... just picture this: with a nicely set-up game that was supposed to end in an overhead smash to kill Djoker in the second set, Rafa jumped, reached for the ball, smashed... and sent the ball straight to the net! Aw, boy! Obviously, he was not in his 100% winning form - yet.
On the upside, the long time away from the tennis courts gave Rafa's skin a nice glow... and he seemed to have loosened up a little bit, wearing a pair of shorts that showed more thighs than usual. Not all that bad. I hope he recovers his form 100%, in time for the 2013 French Open. In the meantime, there's Barcelona... vamos!
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