And that was it. We pursued our own paths and grew apart. Knight, my best friend and lover of two months, my deliverer of mediocrity, the catalyst to my growth, my ‘wery good fortune’, became a stranger to me. It’s okay. He taught me a lot. He made me realize my inner and outer beauty. He assured me of my intelligence. He pried ajar the tight lid that capped my potential. I hear of him now and then, but we had our time together. It was all that was meant to be. Magical and life-changing.
I got the job on the remote island where I lived without Internet, television or phone reception amongst 30 fellow staff members in shared-living quarters. Having been so removed from all the everyday distractions and subliminal expectations of familiar people, I turned inside out and met myself. I was actually surprised to discover that I’m a really loud, left-of-centre, energetic, spiritual, friendly, outspoken person! Or as my new friends endearingly phrased ‘socially-acceptably weird’. Who'd have thought!
My parents finally came to accept that I had stepped off their paved path and had seen for themselves that I was capable of making good choices. I made a decision and I made it work. They could hear the happiness in my voice on the phone and feel bounciness of my emails. It was still hard for them, especially for my father. Mum’s curiosity about my new lifestyle got the better of her and she visited me on the island. I no longer received doubtful emails after that.
My days were filled with ocean-themed craft activities with children, serving customers in the gift-shop, snorkeling amongst wild tropical creatures and exploring pristine coral reefs. Every day was closed with a breath-taking sunset and a midnight-dome of a star saturated sky. I lived with nature and reconnected with the true realities of the earth and spirit of the heart and mind…but eventually, as time wore on in my island life, I found myself getting restless and under-stimulated by my surroundings. I felt blessed to live in paradise but came to realize I still needed more. This life of simplistic hedonism wasn’t enough for me to have meaning…and then I had an epiphany. But that’s another story.
So…what’s yours?
