Welcome to the jungle: Part 1

A jungle can be defined as both ‘A dense mix of vegetation, usually in south tropical geographical locations,’ as well as ‘something made up of many confused elements; a bewildering complex or maze’. The latter definition is my current analysis of my human brain. Welcome to the jungle part 2 is the last half of this entry, as Simone and I have decided to go explore South America. We arrive in Brazil tomorrow, and will be living there indefinitely, or at least until we do what we do best; change our mind. We are professionals at this- unofficial world champions, perhaps.

Those look delicious, I want both. Thank Morpheus that I wasn't "The Chosen One"

The writing strike ends, and the Journey of a lost Indian, continues.


Two weeks ago we were in Freeport, Bahamas, and we thought that we were going to move there.  Little did we know, Freeport happens to be the most boring and uninviting city in all of the Bahamas 680 islands or cays.  Sure, the fishing is amazing, but that’s the only appealing thing about Freeport. I won’t go into detail of what exactly gave us the idea that moving there was a great plan, but I will say that it involved an enticing job offer for me, and an opportunity for Simone to be reunited with her equine love, Pace. We soon decided that neither of these attractions was worth the sacrifice of abandoning ourselves on this near-desolate island. In hindsight, it’s possible that we were trying to be responsible and convince ourselves that we needed to “settle down”, but what is certain is that we went there by planning and thinking, and not feeling… and this is never a good idea for us.

Take this guy for example: He felt that his boat was not moving fast enough, so he decided to powerwalk across the finish line. 

Sometimes you just can’t fight a feelin' ... and right now, these 2 forwards just feel like playing Tetris.

  

We are two of the same, Simone and I. We do what we FEEL is right. It took Simone less than 24 hours to feel that Bahamas was a mistake. I tried to find the light in our situation for a couple days, only to realize that Simone’s feeling was spot-on, and Bahamas was not a place that we were ready to call home. Six days later, we were each on a plane to Miami. Only Simone made it to Florida that day, but this, I will explain a little later.

As usual, an obstacle is what you make it. Where some see a problem, others could see an opportunity, and I believe that all of life’s issues, problems or challenges are simply a perception, and a state of mind. 

Facing predictable and severe injuries in about one second, Pedro choses to execute a flawless, almost majestic soaring position while thinking to himself “I should have stayed in school.”

With extension that even a Bulgarian gymnastics coach would be proud of, I’m sure Pedro feels that the sound of his collarbone breaking will be overshadowed by the adoring applause of the crowd.

Please excuse the darker tone of this blog- it might seem misleading, because I am in fact 'higher on life' than ever before. It's just that the past 3 months have been a massive shift for myself, and most of the world. This shift has manifested itself in various ways for different people, and although I believe that a 'shift' is actually constantly occurring, as in, we are living this life through a shifting level of consciousness, the past 3 months have registered as 'highly significant', and have confirmed to me that the way I chose to live my life is exactly as it should be. The doubts that enter the mind throughout the way are tests (or choices) to see how strong you trust the way of the 'path'


So I may have been reading the Tao Te Ching, again. It's a good reference guide when things start to build up and get a little funky, I highly recommend it.

I’m going to jump back a month or so and talk about some notable events that occurred since we left Bali. Most of our time from then until now was spent in Mallorca, and we also spent time in Liechtenstein and Zurich, and I even returned to Montreal on two separate occasions. Our first experience in Mallorca was late July, and was a grand mix of emotions and personal challenges. We were coming off of a 3 month journey through Asia, which, although unplanned, was a deep spiritual passage for both of us. Returning to ‘normal life’, would have undoubtedly felt strange, but the life we lived in Mallorca was anything but normal. It’s impossible for me to complain about any aspect of my life, but I recently encountered a number of obstacles thrown my way that posed significant “tests’.  My/our obstacles included crashing a BMW in Spain, which was not fun, a disagreeable outcome to a Bahamian vacation rental , which was a major upset, and being denied entry into the US- both extremely inconvenient and emotionally stressful. However, thanks to the angels in my life that guard my body and my brain from destruction, I am able to take all of these events and appreciate them for the lesson in them, the experience gained, and the relationships strengthened through the trials and endeavors overcome.

 As for the car crash, I can tell you that it was truly an event which was strategically placed as an obstacle in my life/our relationship for reasons that I only understood months later. Trust me, if you had seen the situation, you would agree that our car and this unfortunate, un-suspecting woman’s car just NEEDED to collide. It would otherwise be impossible for 2 cars to be in this same place at this same particular time. Impossible. Nobody was physically hurt, but the emotional toll it took was temporarily substantial. It came at a time when our mental state was blended in a vortex of spiritual acknowledgements and undeniable feelings, mixed with environmental influences and ego-driven reactions and insecurities to our adaptation of the ‘normal’ life that we were returning to. What a crazy period in time. It was amazing to overcome it, and now I am able to appreciate the opportunity to have consciously experience it. Crisis averted, and life again flows as a river of peace, adventure, and appreciation.

After all the tests of the past 3 months, many that I didn’t even mention, do I harbor hard feelings for certain people in positions of power who lack integrity and compassion? 

Yes, I do. But I try to remember that forcing a negative energy towards something rarely reaches the “thing”, yet always surrounds the ‘enforcer’, and in this, I find the strength to release this bad energy and embrace it as a lesson learned. But I would like to say this: John and Barbi (real names), you suck. You're sheets feel like plastic, your "million dollar home' is ugly, and you are both dishonest people. Ok, moving on

On that lighter note, Simone and I are now engaged, and that is awesome. It’s fun to have an official title, such as Fiancée. Since I no longer know how to answer when people ask me what I ‘do’, I reply to them, ‘I’m a fiancée.’ A wedding is nowhere in the near future, however. We take things step by step, as we have proven to ourselves that planning the future is futile.

I don’t want to talk too much about Homeland Security, because I don’t have anything nice to say about them. Yes, them. A collective attitude of shortsighted views on National security and a blind attempt at immigration law enforcement that is destined to fail because it is governed by fear, insecurities and force, rather than awareness and power. My over-stay in the US was overlooked by a human in Montreal, but was deeply analyzed by a robot human at the US immigration in Freeport. A robot human, by my definition, is a person that was born as all of us were, yet somehow separated his/herself from the essence of our creation at some point during their life. If someone ever tells you that they are just ‘doing their job,’ it could be fair to tell them that they have chosen a shitty job. One that furthers the world from it’s potential for equality and peace. Not always the job to blame, necessarily, but more so the attitude of the person who takes the job. Occupy Wallstreet? I say occupy the Whitehouse… because that’s where the big picture of these problems are being created.

Ok, i'll move on again.

So Simone is currently in Miami looking for a dog crate for Bailey’s airline trip to Rio, and I’m currently in Panama City looking for a meal without meat. I think that I’ll have to adapt my diet to what the land has to offer, as I suspect that South American culture will not have as many nutritional options as North America. I actually look forward to cycling back to more “opportunist” style eating, as it is more in line with what our bodies were designed to function with. I'm scheduled to land at 1:25am, while Simone & Bailey are landing at 730am. My current game plan is to spend the 6 hours sleeping and practicing my Portuguese in the airport so that I can greet them as they arrive.

We booked a week in Santa Theresa, in a Favela neighborhood that costs 40$/night… this should be interesting. We vowed to get more in touch with local cultures like we did in Bali, and not make the same mistake of isolating ourselves like we did in Bahamas. Although Favelas get a bad wrap, some areas can actually be quite charming and safe. Our area is a more ‘upscale’ (not a shantytown) than many in Rio, and is known for its music and art culture. We are told that live music and dancing will be a major part of our landscape all days of the week, almost all hours of each day. This means that I need to add local samba and salsa lessons to my list of foreign cultural practices to familiarize myself with, in a short period of time, as my current dance-moves rank me with these party-goers right here:

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night
and no one's gonna save you from the beast about strike
You know it's thriller, thriller....

In current Rio news, the major drug dealers and the militia’s favela territories are being busted up by the Brazilian police and army, in preparation for the 2014 World cup and the 2016 Olympic games. Our timing to visit this city seems quite good, as the action is ever growing and security is becoming more of a priority around this major city. As with the threat of Pirates in the Flores sea, the reported violence in Rio is not something that deters me from freely roaming and enjoying the local scene. And no, It's not my yellow belt in Judo that gives me this confidence. It's more the refusal to allow fear to dictate my actions. Yes, it's exactly this mentality that got me deported- but hey, I had a good run;) ....wouldn't take it back for anything. And no, i'm not crazy or saying that danger is a state of mind. Trust me, if you wear a rolex and go out to a bar in Santa Teresa, you're not coming home with that watch. Danger is very real, and something that needs to be considered. In areas like this, you just have to act smart and sensible, keep your head up and trust your instincts. If you've ever seen City of God, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/  or City of Men, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870090/ 
 you've seen where we are currently living. 

This is an actual picture of Santa Teresa. The ocean is to the right about 5 miles away.

Our plan to travel Brazil just recently came to us, partially due to my inability to access the States for the next several months, and I am so very happy that this opportunity came up.  Obviously, it would be even more ideal without a temporary American exile, but alas, it shows that we continue to be able to make lemonade when life throws us lemons. Also fortunate for me is that the manufacturing business that I started with my partner in Bali can be operated from anywhere on the globe, so I have no other restrictions on places that I can be. Simone is so amazing for her unbelievable attitude and infinite support as we overcome this challenge together. What an angel of a partner in life, truly a blessing to have a relationship with a foundation that is unmovable by anything except love. Her battles are remedied with my unconditional support, as are mine with hers- and this is something that I can only describe as a state of being that is like heaven on earth. To know that you are happy to give everything that you are capable of to someone in need is a very special feeling, and to feel the reciprocal blessing of having that counterpart wish to give to you everything you could ever desire, can put you into a state of bliss. More so, to know that who you are is exactly who your partner wished you to be, is a rare blessing in itself, and one that we are proud to know that we share. 


Rio update:


We landed in Rio yesterday- Simone 8 hours after my arrival. It turns out that sleeping in the Rio de Janeiro airport is somewhat of a popular thing. An armed guard patrols and periodically asked you to change benches, but there is no issue other than that. Brazilian coffee is amazing, and Brazilian bread seems to always be filled with cheese- just an observation.


Today we went to Ipanema beach, which is a dream in a weird way. There is a section where dogs are allowed- Bailey appreciates this very much. There is a place to fish, a place to hike, great surf, great sport games to pick up with locals, and it’s essentially the complete adult playground for a fitness minded, nature appreciating population. In every way, the sights are amazing and diverse, and some form of action is happening in all directions.


Our host, Carlos, is so much fun, so energetic, and is very genuine and humble. I don't think he works often, and it seems like many Brazilians don't. What many Brazilians do, is appreciate and take advantage of their lush and gifted landscape. There are thousands of people in the parks (which are mostly equipped with fitness equipment and dedicated running trails) and the beaches are packed all day, every day.


Tomorrow we will check out Copacabana beach and the surrounding area, then we are looking into a reputable hang gliding center to get our adrenaline fix.


I'll try to post some photos soon- Brazil is beautiful and the pics should be quite stunning. The place we are staying is as basic as advertised, and living in this area is pretty wild. Homeless people are spread out along the streets, driving is almost as dangerous as Bali, and yet it feels strangely peaceful and relaxed here. I can't compare this area to anything i've ever experienced, and I look forward to exploring more and learning more about this amazing land.


Tchau!