Monday, 22 August 2011

Great Quote, Lessons Learned & Melancholy

A few days ago, I heard, yes, for those of you who're wondering, on a U2 video on youtube, the following quote:

"We, this people on a small and lonely planet, traveling through casual space, past a new star, across the way of indifferent suns, to a destination where all science tells us it is possible and imperative that we learn a grave and startling truth: We this people on this small and drifting planet, whose hands can strike with such abandon, that in a twinkling life is sapped from the living...Yet those same hands can touch with such healing,  irresistible tenderness...that the heart innate is happy to bow, and the bowed head, is glad to bend. Out of such chaos, such contradiction we learn that we are neither devils nor divine. When we come to it, we, this people on this wayward floating body, creator on this earth, of this earth, have the power to fashion for this earth a climate where every man, every woman can live freely without sanctimonious piety, without crippling fear. When we come to it, we must confess that we are the possible, we are the miraculous we are the true wonder of this world."

It brought me back to thinking about writing something. I've been absent for the past month or so. Its been difficult. I've been reading a book called "Stop Walking on Eggshells." I don't want to go into too much detail, look up the title if you're interested. Suffice it to say, its got tons of highlighted sections, and its answering a lot of questions about my last relationship. But at the same time, it has, at times, put me in a melancholy mood. There have been huge changes in my life the last 6 months--ending what, ultimately was an unhealthy relationship, moving to a new country, moving onto a new track in life. There have been times when it has been incredibly lonely. Not because I don't have wonderful friends and supporters. But because like everyone else, I crave that someone special. Someone to cuddle up to, to hold and to be held, to share in the intimacies and craziness of this planet. Close, amazing, life long friendships are still something different than that.

At the same time, the book has increased my self awareness to the point that I am now definitive on the idea that I don't want to get into a relationship just for the sake of having someone--its not worth the risk of getting stuck with another unhealthy individual. So, I guess I'll just have to swallow, a little,  or at least for the time being, the loneliness in regards to that someone special, and let the universe do its work...as hard, and as frustrating as that sometimes is, and have faith that somewhere out there, is a wonderful woman, who will complement me and adore me for who I am.

*****************************************************************************

As you all know, I am, generally speaking, a bit of a loner, a bit of an introvert. A few weeks ago, someone told me that I needed to try to be more extroverted. It made me mad. Why should I change because someone projects their own fucking insecurities and life views onto me? When i discussed this with a counselor, she didn't say anything, she simply handed me this sheet, which speaks volumes.

Top ten myths about introverts 

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy. 

Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.











Monday, 25 July 2011

Music, Emotion & Yoga

Well, I've been off the blog for a few weeks....which have been a blur. News of Peter's death put me in a haze...it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I've had a huge amount of  'new' stuff in my life to get used to: moving to Australia, starting a new career track....It had all kind of piled up. I was keeping it inside and getting more and more frustrated with my inability to vent it and have a release. I was running things around in my head, and couldn't stop: what could i have done differently, why did things turn out the way they did? is it all my fault? Am i a failure? Am I f*****g it all up?

In typical Fabs style i was beating the shit out of myself. No-one is better at self flagellation than me. That, people, is the great 'negative' of having Germanic blood. We do guilt 3rd only to Catholics & Jews. I was a zombie for a good two weeks. I ate junk every day. I didn't train, and skipped out on yoga. I started slipping back into darkness. Then, on Sunday morning, I woke up to see that one of my Boston Yoga mentor Jedis had posted a class playlist on FB. This mentor always puts together amazing playlists and I usually head right to I-Tunes to check it out and buy a couple. Listening to the excerpt of one...I froze...Matisyahu? Who the f**k is that? A Hassidic Reggae artist? Who knew! I buy the whole song...put it on my I-Pod...and it hits me...PERFECTION...just...for...THIS...moment. I head up to the privacy of my room, cause its raining outside, lay out my mat and start doing Sun Salutations. Within seconds the tears are flowing, and the release is HERE...Surya Namaskara while bawling your eyes out with a song on repeat. Music touches my heart like no other art form. It reaches the depth of my soul in ways that a painting or photograph can't. Combine it with yoga and it's perfect....Sunday night I slept like a baby and this morning, boy did the weights get thrown around....I'm over the hump and back...

"Sometimes I lay under the moon
And I thank God I'm breathin'
Then I pray don't take me soon
'Cause I am here for a reason

Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down...
So when negativity surrounds
I know someday it'll all turn around
..."



Monday, 4 July 2011

Shitty News...And T S Eliot

Over the weekend I got the news that my godfather has died. Although I hadn't seem him all that often in the last couple of years, he was always a huge support to me. He always gave great advice, and called the monsters in my life by their name, without beating around the bush. After a long day at school yesterday, I got massively upset, and started crying about losing him. I didn't get to say goodbye, I wish I'd told him what his advice meant to me, and what it meant to me that he had my back when I needed him to and when few other people did.  Being so upset about him in turn brought on being upset about someone else. You'll know who I'm thinking of. I just wanted someone to tell me things are going to be ok, and to give me a hug. I almost broke for the first time in months...I almost emailed the person I'm thinking of but didn't, thankfully.

I didn't because a piece of poetry popped into my head. Read out by one of my mentors in a Yoga class in Boston early this year, it made me stop, and breathe, and realize that the desire to have someone is a normal human emotion....but I want someone who values me for me, and knows what they have found in me.  The stanza from the poem always calms me down, but also moves me in a very deep way. Its from T S Eliot's East Coker, and I don't think any further comment is necessary.

"I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
"



Thursday, 30 June 2011

Can't I Just Love Sports?

Earlier today, I got into a conversation with a group of people about sports. Are you a football fan? Are you a rugby fan? Are you and Aussie rules fan? Why do you support the teams you support? You SHOULD support X. The team you support sucks. I hate them. Standard sports conversation, right?

It got me to thinking about why my interest in sports has waned a little bit in the last couple of years. I think its for the same reason that I am so anti-organized-religion. Sport--or rather, the tribalism inherent in sport has become a way to divide people rather than a way to unite them. People commit violence over sports. Look at the riots in Vancouver a few weeks back that were the result of their team losing the Stanley Cup. Look at the number of times that riots happen at football matches. Wars have started because of sports. Just as wars have started because of religion. People have died because they supported the "wrong" team. Remember the Beckham effigies in England in 1998? Why are we still discussing Maradonna's "hand of god" 20 plus years on? Why do Liverpool fans hate Manchester United? Why do Arsenal fans hate Spurs fans? Why is there so much hatred that some away fans produce a hissing sound when their team is playing Spurs to "mimic" the sounds of the gas chambers, thereby expressing seriously nasty sentiments against Spurs' Jewish connection.

Some people will tell me that they support a team because it gives them a sense of community, a sense of belonging. That may be true...but ultimately just like the major religions, sports supporters are tribal, and therefore exclusionary, just like Churches, Mosques and Synagogues are. If you don't support team X, you don't belong.

Lately, I find myself not answering the question "what team do you support?" the way people might expect. I don't wear my England, Wasps or Chelsea shirts that much anymore. Now, my response tends to be that "I don't really support anyone, I just love watching the sport." The skill, athleticism and artistry inherent in a Xavi-Iniesta-Messi interplay, in an All Blacks-length-of-the-field score, in a tight spiral from Brady or Rodgers (or god forbid, Manning), in a beautiful passing shot from Federer or Nadal, or in a perfect overtake by Alonso.

Oscar Wilde said it well when he wrote that "patriotism is the virtue of the vicious." He was right...but maybe we could include "tribalism" in there too....But Erich Fromm said it better:

"Nationalism is our form of incest, is our idolatry, is our insanity. 'Patriotism' is its cult. It should hardly be necessary to say, that by 'patriotism' I mean that attitude which puts the own nation above humanity, above the principles of truth and justice; not the loving interest in one's own nation, which is the concern with the nation's spiritual as much as with its material welfare — never with its power over other nations. Just as love for one individual which excludes the love for others is not love, love for one's country which is not part of one's love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship"

I reckon that could easily be applied to sports. So from now on, i'll be raising a glass to athletic genius and skill no matter who performs it, instead of ranting and raving and getting all upset if someone from the "wrong" team pulls something special out of the hat. After all, its all just a game, isn't it? And we're all just humans trying to make the world better aren't we?? Maybe that's a bit to "cumbayah, hold hands in a circle" for some of you...but, so be it.

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

Phoenix

After waking up this morning, Aussie time, and reading a blog post by my dear friend Deb, I'm inspired to write this. Many of you will have noticed that I've had this image of a Phoenix up as my FB profile photo for some months now.

In ancient mythology, the Phoenix symbolizes rebirth and renewal. Those of you who know me well are aware that the last 3 years or so haven't been easy for me. I've finally confronted a lot of things about myself and my past that needed confronting, and fought--and am still fighting through depression. There are up days and down days. Thankfully the up days now outweigh the down.  With some amazing help, love and support from a select group of "Fabs' Jedis"--yes, that's what I call them, and they know who they are--I've made progress, and made huge changes to myself. For the first time in years I feel at peace and contented. I've come out of my emotional shell: when a song comes up on my Ipod that triggers sad memories or emotions, I cry while I'm walking down the street. If its one that makes me want to sing out loud, I do so--in spite of the fact that both of these "public displays of emotion" often elicit bemused glances from passers-by or fellow tram riders. Sometimes I break down in tears on the yoga mat, sometimes I burst out laughing.Other times I'm quiet and meditative...just...present.

People have told me that the changes to me are visible as well as emotional. I've been told that my posture is more upright, that my eyes are clearer and my brow less furrowed than it ever has been. Perhaps I should be more succinct: I'm in touch with my heart, and with my feelings. I'm in touch with and am finally finding the real Fabian.

It is those significant changes to myself that gave me a new vocation in life that I'm fortunate enough to be able to explore. The first 4 weeks of my natural medicine course have been incredibly profound. To realize that I can play a part in helping people to heal--and in turn continue my own healing has been extremely emotional at times.The "power of touch" is really...powerful.

All of this has been a revelation, and it still sometimes feels very weird and very new. Change can be hard to quantify, and re-reading the above I find it doesn't fully express what I'm trying to say-but that's the mystery of feelings and emotions--how do you explain them? The best we can do, is just to "let it flow"--and that's what this journey is about to me.

Monday, 20 June 2011

Melvin the Skateboarding Rhinoceros

Some of you may be aware of Tillman, the skateboarding bulldog. Let me introduce you to Melvin, the skateboarding Rhino. Melvin (christening my own), is the center-piece of the first funny public transportation safety campaign I've ever encountered. Most safety posters on public transportation are designed to scare the s**t out of you. The warning on the accompanying posters reads: "If you saw a rhino on a skateboard heading your way, you'd get out of the way, right?...A tram weighs about as much as 30 rhinos..."

Personally, I can't help cackling at this one: Its especially funny if you've had some shall we say "happy herb," and you've got Credence Clearwater Revival's "Lookin' Out On My Back Door" playing on your Ipod, when you see a tram painted like this:













Try to picture Melvin rocking down your street on his gigantic board, and I guarantee you'll crack a smile. I'd certainly get out of Melvin's path. But I'd stay nearby just to watch his skills!

Transience of Life

I miss my friends and my mentors in the United States and the UK. Granted, my distance from them--even if temporary--is of my own making, my own choosing. But the reality of distance has made me much more observant and reflective about the reality--and frailty--of human relationships. The reality is, though we may not want it to be so, being at long distances makes it harder to maintain contact. We naturally gravitate to people whom we can interact with on a daily basis, and if someone moves away, communication with that person tends to taper off gradually. I've been guilty of it myself. We all lead busy lives. One of the downsides of modern communication methods is their impersonal nature. So my resolution as we move towards the half-way mark of 2011 is to make a concerted effort to stay in touch with the people that mean so much to me, and who have given me so much joy, love and support. So please forgive me if sometimes come across as nagging or pestering in communication. Its because I want to retain the relationships that mean so much. Love to all.

Sunday, 19 June 2011

RIP Clarence Clemons

I'd intended to write my first post tomorrow, to start this blog on a Monday. Then I tuned into CNN online this afternoon only to read that the great Clarence Clemons, Sax player of the E-Street Band has died in the aftermath of a stroke. A great loss to music. I'll never forget my first Springsteen gig, and hearing the monster solo he played in Jungleland. Shakespeare said it best: 

"The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils."



RIP Big Man