Light

Each morning I seem to be waking earlier and earlier. Maybe it is the quality of the fresh air and light in the city. Maybe it is a result of the quiet; or the sounds of the doves cooing. Whatever the reason, it is becoming one of my favorite times of the day. Whenever I reflect back on my world travels, it seems I always remember certain moments that are framed or defined by the quality of the light. Light moves me in ways that are mysterious yet very calming. I think this is one of the reasons that I am much calmer living in Merida–and seem to be better balanced.

This photograph was taken at the San Bernandino de Siena ex-convent in Valladolid, Yucatan, Mexico.  Lea and I went there for a weekend. We found the city a bit ruined by the tourist bus stopovers going to Chichén Itzá from Cancun. Sad to see people piling off the bus, walking one loop around the square (maybe stopping in to be gouged by a vendor or sick their nose into the cathedral) and then hopping back on the bus. These people, in looking closely at their eyes, seem to have no inner light. They seem to be reflecting their surroundings not their own inner depths.

This Greek mosaic shows a skelton pointing to the phrase that says “know thyself.” The light calls me back to myself-it is almost as if it is a siren call. This siren call may also be calling me to a new place within myself. A place that is quiet. A place where I can know myself. We shall see if this is a journey of discovery or a returning to a time that existed in the past.