Welcome to Paradise

5:57 am. The waves lap loudly at the shore, playing bumper-cars with each other, seeing which one's taller, faster, out-doing the others. The outlines of gigantic rock islands faintly illuminated against the gradually lightening sky. The stars slowly fading, one by one, winking their farewell to those below. The fine white sand pouring softly through my fingers, piling up perfectly, falling according to a perfect equation. Gently cradling me, the most comfortable seat.

All this after a night of dancing, drinking, taking care of friends. Philisophical conversations. Everyone in bed, and instead a barefoot through the dark streets of the small village/town of Watamu. The moon close to full, illuminating the path. Dogs guarding various establishments, while the noise of those getting up to start their day drift down over the dirt road.

Conversation, math, science, art, beauty, literature, pasts, futures, ideas, dreams.

Those of you who know me have been accosted by my trademark questions, the one I ask nearly everyone if the time is right is “If you could be anywhere, right now, where would you be?” I have always been obsessed with that question, I want to know where you would go, why, how, you're underlying motivation. As I turned to my friend to ask, the question froze in my throat....I couldn't ask the question, because I didn't have an answer. For the first time in my entire life, I was absolutely content. There was no where I would rather have been than on that beach, waiting for day to break, the fishingboats coming back in after high-tide, tired, sunburnt, and perfectly content. My little version of paradise. Absolute beauty.

The sun rose slowly, the rocks were illuminated in detail, and more and more people wandered onto the beach. The fishing boats came back in, and the day was begun. My friend and I stood up, and shoes in hand meandered tiredly back to the house to sleep until the afternoon.

A momentary paradise, yet paradise all the same.