5.57AM, Saturday morning, October 7. Waking up by the unmistakable sound of someone who had a bit too much fun, puking under the windows that open to the street outside. Realising I am in a room I've never slept in before. And that it's the exact time of my birth. And that that was a Saturday as well. Interesting. Or well, maybe more to me than to anyone else. Anyways..
Getting it straight in my fuzzy head that I'm in Barcelona, where I moved out of an expensive hostel into the future luxurious air castle of a generous cruise friend. Not too posh yet, without hot water and with construction materials and old pieces of house scattered all over the place, covered by a grey-white filter blanket of dust. But who cares, if you're living in the centre of Barcelona for free? Posh has never really looked good on me anyway.
Also, I have never felt richer in my life. Ten million dollars at least.
As I have plenty of time on my side. And tons of connections. Existing ones that deepen, while new ones cross my path in unexpected situations. On top of that, I'm adding stories to my personal collection of adventures, meanwhile growing personally on the go. Everything is simply perfect and flowing at the moment!
Read. Write. Lose track of time studying languages by listening podcasts, music and look up its lyrics. Sit on steps. Sit on benches. Sit on anything you can sit on really. Watch people. Have a coffee. Talk to strangers and get 'unstranged' with each other. Play and cuddle with dogs.
Catch up with friends that are around or hang out with new people. Have conversations, from deep and meaningful to silly and entertaining. Walk, run, skip rope, swim or do nothing. Draw, color, sing or try other creative (and scary) things, as I used to do as a kid. Cook, with love, time and attention and enjoy eating it slowly.
See the sun, hear the wind and feel the ocean while facing the beach with my eyes closed. Stare, drift away and dream. Enjoy that peaceful place inside. That place where sometimes suddenly the best realisations of how good my life actually is, pop up.
Like in this very moment.
It's still early and I'm still half asleep when I had just realised all the above. Already smiling, but smiling a little extra to the feeling of being sober and well-rested after a night of 'bear time'; the necessary, spiritual animal downtime with myself, after 2 weeks of quality friend-time with lovely people from all over the world, sharing October's Indian summer days in Berlin and Barcelona.
After the concert of puke, I overhear a couple, the girl asking the boy if he really loves her. I listen until the chatter is too far for me to hear. Friends of the puking guy, who was apparently still sitting next to his own produce, find him and pick him up. I smile a bit more at how cute life can be.
My belly is done sleeping. It wants to put this crazy current reality into words to be able to read back later. For a possible future, rainy day when things will definitely be different than today. My brain answers "Go back to sleep, you fool. It's too early". But my belly knows that time is not relevant right now. We can have a nap later. Any time we like.
And that realisation made my grin even bigger, stretch like a cat, jump up and put the laptop on my lap. Typing with a close to maniacal grin, sitting on the bed, in the middle of this perfect room, in this perfect moment, while the sun shines her first light over Barcelona Barrio Gótico.
Oh. And life got even better just now: I can shower on the beach. Ha!
x
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