Loss of Hearing My Inner Voice

It has been a very very long time since I had a day to myself. On Friday, I went down to Wadi Mujib for an overnight. Here is how I spent my perfect 24 hours!

While driving I was listening & singing some of my favorite oldies & enjoying the scenery along the road. Immediately after checking in around 4 pm I laid down on the hammock facing dead sea. I started eating Man'aoush half zaa'tar & half cheese :-) yummy yummy. How humanity could survive without zaa'tar :-)

I rocked myself (on the hammock) from one side to another till 9 pm. I was not reading, nor listening to music... I was just observing silence, sea, mountains, sunset, darkness, stars....filling my soul with peace.

I went inside my room assuming that I am gonna sleep on the spot, instead I read till 10:30. Next morning, the minute I opened my eyes & for 2 hours tugged under a blanket, laying on the hammock I felt & enjoyed the early sun light & cool breath. After breakfast, I took some pictures of the area & went down to the sea level with my book. I kept on tossing under the sun like a Shwerma on a grill & reading till 4:30 pm. I finished the novel :-) then I went back to my room packed & laid again on my hummock singing my gratitude prayer.

I uprooted myself to leave... left craving for more. Despite this unfulfilled feeling & the short period, I managed to see a tremendous change of how I was feeling before & after. A soul make over!

I can't believe of all what I know about myself, I managed to clutter my inner self with daze, chaos and noise. To extent I have hard time hearing my inner voice. I lost my serenity & connection with myself. I lost my best friend. What terrified me most, is that when I considered going alone a feeling of of aloneness & loneliness overwhelmed me. Which I never had before...I do maintain & restore my balance when I am alone.

For months I had this nagging need of spending time in nature by myself or with just one friend. My daily working out is not enough any more to maintain my serenity. Exercising in a gym is not a meditating routine… not like walking outdoors. Staying in my house for a couple of hours now & then is not enough... I could not any longer digest & reflect on all these events, emotions, & people around me.

I transformed my life from a life revolving around a few precious people to a life full of people & social events. I no longer could manage a balance between time for myself & time for others.

I know my reasons for postponing spending time alone but it is not an excuses to permit myself to reach such a stage. These noises & chaotic emotions that fills my soul have to end. I want my best friend & true self back.

It is just one corrective action that I need to take: Plenty of out door activities alone

My recipe for a perfect day consists of:

• Being in nature, near water is an added value
• Enjoying silence
• Hearing my inner voice
• Reading a good book
• Eating yummy food
• Listing my blessings

May our souls be blessed with serenity, peace & connection with our true selves.
more photos

The Temple of Poseidon at Sounion 26 Feb 05

I went to Sounion by bus, the drive from Athens is wonderful it goes along a scenic coastal road which affords a splendid view of the Saronic Gulf passing through beautiful suburbs (Glyfada, Vouliagmeni, Varzika) to Cape Sounion. The trip took around 2.5 hours.


Sounion is where the temple of Poseidon resides. The temple of Sounion sits above the beach on a mountain that juts out into the sea and was dedicated to Poseidon. For who doesn’t know Poseidon is god of the sea in Greek mythology. In ancient times the temple was the last sign of civilization the Athenians saw as they sailed away from home and the first as they returned. The temple is of Doric style and was built in the 5th Century BC, supposedly on the location of an even older temple. You are not allowed to enter the temple any longer and it is roped off but you can get close enough to appreciate it and even read the graffiti carved on the ancient columns, some of it hundreds of years old. The sunset there is amazing. I was told that from the temple site on a clear day I can see at least seven islands but on that day I only saw a couple of them. The sunset was amazing there! I watched the sunset with a cup of hot chocolate it was freezing that day.

My Relaxed Fat Greek Weekend 21/02/05

I had a typical Greek weekend, my friends picked me up at 8 am from the hotel, and we headed towards Poros by car. Usually it takes 2.5 hours by car, but it took us 5 hours!

The ride from Piraeus towards Poros was interesting, in the beginning it was a highway without much to see, little by little we were heading towards the suburbs the scene was changing; green was spread across the sight. You could tell spring is on the door, tinny winy flowers were colouring the green carpet, the fruit trees started to flower. After 1.5 hour of driving, we stopped for a coffee in Strike. The scene from the coffee shop is really striking I can’t find words to describe it nor I think the picture I took can give its justice. Ah, I forgot on our way we passed the Corinth Canal (I encourage you to read about the canal history).

My friends informed me that we will stop at Epidaurus. I didn’t have any previous idea what is that! We bought tickets on the entrance, we walked for 10 minutes, & here it is. I was shocked to see an ancient theatre lying between high pine trees, there is no previous indication that you would see such a thing in this area. The area is very peaceful it has a calming effect, I told my friends this before realizing that a healing center was near by Epidaurus. In Epidaurus actors/singers don’t need any microphone, as the theatre was constructed in a way that moves sound from the center to the highest point in the theatre. I was told that until this time, no body could imitate the echo system of this theatre with all the technology we possess now.

My friends they come from Poros, they have been driving to it almost every weekend for the past 25 year. On our way, we stopped to pick some goat cheese from an old lady, then we stopped to pick fresh bread from a bakery. Yes, this was our breakfast. What a cheese! Probably I will remember the taste for the rest of my life. Not only because I was starving J. We continued picking food along the road.

Finally, we reached Galatas. Galatas is where their home. I have been there 2 years ago. I had one of the best time in my life then. I believe Galatas is very similar to Yafa. It is a small village people grow there citrus and olive trees. I cannot describe how beautiful it is to see orange, mandarin, and lemon trees all way long to the sea! We headed immediately toward the town center to pick some seafood or fish. No luck! It was 1:30 pm by that time, fish shops have closed. We stopped for Ouzo and a snack.

We went back home, started to prepare lunch from the vegetables we picked & put on the fireplace! Lunch lasted until 5 pm J. After a lot of eating & drinking, sleeping was a must! The nap lasted until 8 pm.

It was now time to head to Poros. Poros is a small island in the Saronic gulf. All we had to do is to cross from Galatas to Poros by a taxi boat. The ride lasts for 10 minutes. We had coffee with their friends, more friends joined after.

It was now time from dinner! We went to a fish tavern. Again, more drinking & eating! The food was great typical Greek mazeh. Greek songs were entertaining us, people were chatting, singing, and eating. I guess all the people in the restaurant knew each other; they were exchanging jocks and drinks.

Guess what! At 1 am we moved to Bouzouki a live Greek music & dancing. People were dancing and singing none stop; by the way singing on the stage is not limited to the band. At 4 am it was time to leave. No, we went for a walk first. Time means nothing. It is a Greek weekend.

I will spare you the details of the next day :-)