Boulder
May 28th, 2018
I thought I'd begin this by thanking my good friend Aurelie for her love & comforting home. I had originally planned to begin writing in Paris, but here I am.
I am currently at The Laughing Goat, a coffee shop on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder. Amidst easily over 100,000 people running, jogging and walking along the streets of downtown Boulder. I walked from my Uber ride to the station and then through the crowded Pearl Street to find a place to rest & gather my thoughts at this present time.
The immense joy filled my spirit up as I left the airport in Austin. I can still recall the final loving embrace of my mother and traditional thumbs up from my father with the phrase "Buen Camino!"
During the duration of my flight to Denver, I sat between two women ~ we remained silent for most of the flight... Until I had finished a chapter titled "From Faith to Wisdom" from the book "New Seeds of Contemplation" by Thomas Merton. The chapter discusses what the true spiritual life is: "A life neither of dionysian orgy nor of apollonian clarity: it transcends both. It is a life of wisdom, a life of Sophianic love. In Sophia, the highest wisdom-principle, all the greatness and majesty of the unknown that is in God and all that is rich and maternal in His creation are united inseparably, as paternal and maternal principles, the uncreated Father & created Mother Wisdom."
Unbeknownst to me, I was sitting right next to Sophia. An older lady ~ wise & beyond her years, Sophia & I began talking for the last 15 minutes of our flight. The peace in the inflection of her voice, gave way to an overwhelming sense of calm in me. I was and am in the right place.
Soon thereafter I would be picked up from the Junction Station at the end of the Boulder line. My sweet Belgian friend Aurelie greeted me with a hug & love as two old friends meeting right where we had left off.
Four years.
Four fairly quick years with a whirlwind of change between us. Yet, we exchanged our life stories & our collective peace & elation in the moment to share the same road once again.
From Wednesday to Monday, I drank organic beers at Avery's//Left Hand//Asher's, enjoyed sour gummies, went on long walks & climbed mountainous hilltops & rocks. Either altogether with Aurelie & friends or completely alone. Like Aurelie said, "I came for the mountains, I stayed because of the people."
The people here are quite homogenous (88% white) and yet very aware of the flow of various cultures and traditions steeped in the town's rich native american tradition. I've had numerous enlightening conversations with Jessie (Iranian gentlement from Big Sur), Nico (Spanish Intellectual), Alex a.k.a. Simba (Blonde dreds - incredibly gifted & beautiful soul), Connor (from Port Lavaca ~ who has a heart of Gold), and of course Aurelie who brought us all together in this special place.
Along my time in Boulder, I began to walk for several miles each day. Beginning on Thursday evening, when I took a stroll to the second nearest coffeeshop "Tod's".
The Americano proved to be quaffable and led to an impromptu checking of my ukulele. It seemed to play well, and as I walked to an unknown destination I thought how strange it was to hear someone whistle inside the coffeeshop. That is when you know life is pretty good, when you hear whistling in a coffeeshop.
It was far too early in the day to enjoy anything, so I found myself walking alongside the side pavements of Boulder into the nearby suburbia. The freshly cut grass with perfectly seamed lines with plants and flowerbeds gave way to a aesthetically pleasing walk. Surely this paradise was built for outsiders who had just moved here, but this sorely is an unreviewed opinion.
After a long walk, I made my way back towards Aurelie's home. I made a brief stop at The Green Dream shop for a fair share of Colorado's finest edibles money could buy. The sour gummy was my preferred choice, and after sitting down just outside the park bench... I indulged in 10 mg.
I had sat at the park bench for a decent amount of twenty-thirty minutes until I had the sudden hankering for lunch. I had remembered the Italian restaurant I passed by earlier called Pronto. As I walked in, I realized I was their first customer of the day ~ due to all the waitresses huddled all around near the bar area. I briefly sat down my things & readdressed myself in the bathroom. As I walked out, there was water in a glass waiting to greet me at the table.
Her name was Viviana, she was of European descent. What would transpire over the next hour was nothing short of brilliant exchanged glances, smiles, laughter and of course dialogue. Dialogue that right off the bat moved from the beginning question, "Do you have any Sicilian wine?" To which I received quite the blank stare of amusement and a wide eyed smile. She asked "I'm not sure, wait... Are you Sicilian?" I couldn't help but tell the truth..."No, I'm actually not, but I am going there!"
These fruitful conversations, many of which would occur whether during rock climbing sessions, listening to the neverending jokes from Jessie, Aurelie & I on Realization Point admiring trees & meditating together, or Mariante talking about the mystery & meaning found on the Camino. One thing is for sure, I must continue my writing...