Rocket Man

My mind is tumbling around. Navigating new languages, new spaces, new faces, and new challenges, always on the move. Life has been non-stop since leaving Canada about two weeks ago and it shows no immediate sign of stopping. I pray there is time for peace and focus awaiting me in Kyiv. I write this as we travel from Warsaw via bus and the air pressure difference created by the air-conditioning is wreaking havoc on my senses. I feel like I just want to explode - but given our current trajectory into Ukraine, I simultaneously pray no exploding will be done anytime soon.

The purpose of these travels has been, firstly, to visit Rena's family (my own extended family now), and secondly, to create something important, meaningful, and lasting. And while to some extent I have been working on it, little can actually be said about my progress at this point. Frankly, I've been too busy. I almost forgot how time-intensive it was to make travel plans, book transportation and accommodations, see them through, and all the while still caring for you own basic needs like sleep and food, and at least a little enjoyment. All the while, trying to make the most out of my time in each stop along the way and soak up the time spent with those in our presence. It's exhausting really.

So while being out on these adventures has been great, and it has really brought me out of the shell that has grown around me over the past 9 months, it really is a bit of a distraction from the core work that needs to be done: sitting down to do some focused and quality writing. Of course, adventure is necessary to provide material, but I'm only human - I'm not just some content machine. I need time to digest things and process it all and wrestle with my own existence too! And I can't really do that when I'm constantly moving about. So I pray for peace in Ukraine. In more ways than this of course.

I suppose I'm still just in the take-off phase of this whole rocket-ship mission. Things are changing so fast I feel like I'm approaching the speed of light and losing any firm sense of space in the process. These reminders help bring me some beginnings of peace. So for now, I accept my place in this grand journey and trust that I’ll find myself exactly where I need to be at the end of this initial thrust…