On
September 6th I received a call from Michael, the HR director at the
school in Phuket, who offered to me a teaching job. I was enjoying papaya salad
during lunch break at Ms. Ole’s restaurant. It was one day before my birthday.
A present given when it isn't your birthday, of course."
Alice considered a little. "I like birthday presents best," she said at last.
You don't know what you're talking about!" cried Humpty Dumpty. "How many days are there in a year?"
Three hundred and sixty-five," said Alice.
And how many birthdays have you?"
One.”
― Lewis Carroll
The
morning of my birthday, after repeatedly hitting the snooze button for one hour,
I woke up as if my head was filled with lead. My head hurt thru ought the
morning, especially after a couple of hours of teaching. I found out that playing
competitive games is the only way to get teenagers’ attention so my classes are
particularly loud. While the kids recited Thailand’s attractions in different
musical styles my head felt as if it was about to burst.
After
lunch break I went back to the hotel to brush my teeth, as I always do, and I was
unable to come back to school. Apart from the headache, I had a little fever
and chills. My body felt weak, so I lay in bed and woke up in the evening.
During the rest of the day I read my beautiful birthday messages, talked to my
friend Jimena, my mom and grandparents, chatted with David, watched a couple of
silly movies and went back to sleep, still feeling terrible. My headache was finally
gone when I woke up on Saturday morning.
It
does not sound like an ideal birthday to be sick with some kind of flu, alone
in a hotel room somewhere in remote South East Asia. Nevertheless, happiness is
a funny thing. I felt happy all day. I am living my dream, demolishing my own
limitations, creating my life, challenging my old ideas of what is right,
taking life much less seriously, connecting with people out of love as opposed
to fear, understanding how we all want the same and how we can all help each
other just by following our passions.
I
always had a feeling that wonderful things would happen when I turned 36. I am
about to discover them…
A present given when it isn't your birthday, of course."
Alice considered a little. "I like birthday presents best," she said at last.
You don't know what you're talking about!" cried Humpty Dumpty. "How many days are there in a year?"
Three hundred and sixty-five," said Alice.
And how many birthdays have you?"
One.”
― Lewis Carroll
I think yours is a grand synopsis of how love changes one's perspective from the inside out. Indeed many of us simply enjoy the meeting of like-hearted individuals. Much metta!
ReplyDelete<3 Dan!
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