Don't Look Down!

I've made a promise to myself not to post any further pictures of the garbage that has piled up on the streets of Athens. I experienced an epiphany yesterday as I was carefully stepping around plastic bags that had been torn open and scattered by dogs and cats (and ????), it was a spiritual flash that made me realize that my perspective had been all wrong. I had been focusing on the garbage because I had been looking down. Of course, looking down while walking in Athens is not a bad thing, because it helps you to avoid stepping into open utility vaults, tripping over broken pavement, or stepping in dog poop. Nevertheless, by looking down, things were not looking up.

At the moment this intuitive realization took place, I was walking in Monastiraki, the old market area of Athens, having just exited the Metro. I paused, looked up from my feet (and the garbage), and there above me was this beautiful, visual delight; the tiled roof lines of two neoclassical buildings juxtaposed in the morning light. I stood there for some moments, looking ever so much like a tourist, and just stared up. The sight was clean, uncomplicated, historical; reminding me that I really was here, in Athens, one of the great cities in time.

Not wanting to ruin the moment, even though my neck began to ache, I moved on towards the office with my gaze fixed on the roof tops. My feet began to encounter unfamiliar textures, and the unrecognizable sounds of "stuff" being crunched and squished beneath them, reached my ears. I continued on. Things were looking up because I was doing the same.

All Greek fables are suppose to have a moral:

Change your perspective and it will change your perspective.

Sort of Like Mr. Lincoln

I'm enjoying the weekend. I'm now out in the country staying with two of the (very) few remaining friends I have Athens. It's good to be out of the chaos of the city and the snarls and nastiness that the continuing labor strikes are creating.

I've started to settle into my routine of morning exercise and meditation now that I'm in a quiet and healthy environment. Even though I have to commute back into the city most days, I can at least begin each day with a proper attitude and a relaxed body. It doesn't take long, though, for me to get psychologically tighter than an over wound clock as I immerse myself in the seemingly bottomless pool of the Greek legal system.

Several of you have asked me over time, "How can you keep doing this?" There is a well known character in one of Henry James' novels that was asked a similar question; I like how James had him respond: " ... we work in the dark, we do what we can, we give what we have ...". To use some 12 Step vernacular, I suit up and show up, and do what is asked of me. That's not to say that I enjoy what I'm asked to do, but in the end, I believe that my actions are the right thing, and that it will all work together for good.

It's no "great service" like Mr. Lincoln rendered, but giving something your best in mind and body has its rewards, believe me.

Life is good ... it really is!

I'm Here, But Not all There !

If anyone is actually reading this, or if you happened on to this page by mistake, I apologize for the delay in getting a new post up and available.

I'm in Athens and have been once again wending my way through the labyrinth of the Greek legal system with the very able guidance of our lawyers. I couldn't even have found the non-functioning toilets in the Greek court complex without their expert direction. (like, why would anyone want to use them once they were found .... !) Photography is not allowed with the complex, otherwise I would have taken one that would have been worth at least a thousand words.

I'm including a picture (above) of what every visitor to Athens expects to see. The next picture is what every visitor will see, whether they want to or not. One of the reasons for the delay in my posting is that there have been general strikes almost every day since I arrived. This has meant that there are unannounced power cuts (of up to 4 hours), transportation strikes, labor strikes and, no garbage pick up. It's getting difficult to navigate the in the streets, and almost impossible to use the sidewalks. The current Greek National Tourist Organization's promotional media campaign is; "Greece: An Experience for All Your Senses". Yup, no problem with that.

It's good to be back on line. Tune in for more this week.

Thanks for being there from one who is not.