Loading ...just a little more Moscow & a little about what I think I’m doing in Russia
Airport Greetings!
Moscow was the only way for me to get to what initially attracted me to Russia in the winter. I’m now at Domodedovo Airport, checked in and almost ready to fly eastward. Just wanted to share a few more photos and some thoughts before leaving Moscow. Here’s the link to photos:
https://balloonbill.smugmug.com/Other/Moscow-II/
Wishing inner peace to all, in spite of stormy weather!
.
*There is more to the message, posted in the first comment*
In response to my last email, we’re not in Kansas anymore, this is what a friend wrote:
“Hi Bill – are you in the eye of the storm? …in the big calm?”
Here is my reply:
I’ve commented before about how amazed I am by your apparent depth of perception, your understanding of me and how I am, often providing me with even greater understanding of myself because of the perspectives you share with me, of me, and the comments you make about what I write. I appreciate you!
Am I in the eye of the storm?! The answer is, I don’t really know! The storm is so big and such a mess, I’m not sure there is an eye to it, but what I do know is that I carry with me my own eye, inside of me. The calm is inside, no matter what tempest is outside.
I’m curious to know if you recognized and understand the meaning of the subject line of my email: “we’re not in Kansas anymore”. It is a line by Dorothy, from the American movie, ‘The Wizard of Oz’. In case you’re not familiar with the intended meaning of that line, here is a good explanation:
“We’re not in Kansas anymore means we are no longer in a familiar place; we are in a new and unknown situation; we are beyond what is normal or everyday; we are in an uncomfortable circumstance; things are getting strange.”
The idea of my coming to Russia now was not because of some desire I had, or conclusion I came to, but because I was drawn to coming here by something that I allowed to pull me forward, out of Kansas and towards something much less familiar and much less comfortable than staying in Oregon, for example. I’m not a masochist, yet I am definitely drawn to explore life, even its less-than-comfortable aspects.
As you no doubt have observed, that is how I operate in life in general, allowing life to pull me forward into experiences that it has in store for versus my coming up with some contrivance. Russia is understandably not at the top of the list of comfortable places to visit for most people, especially westerners, even on a good day! And now?! No, it’s more likely to be on a list of places to avoid like the plague. Yet Russia pulled me to her.
Maybe you saw the line at the end of the description for the Moscow photo gallery: “I have been drawn to Russia now by the same basic energetic reasons that resulted in my first visit to the Soviet Union, in 1989.” That’s a very long story, but the short of it is I was drawn to the country that was the enemy of the country I am from, on a peace mission, to connect directly with individuals, with real people, instead of believing either government and taking a side against the other. The reasons I am drawn here now include the same reasons in 1989, but the additional reasons now are not as easy for me to articulate, except to say it is in the same realm energetically as it was in 1989.
As to the notion of a storm, your question brought to mind a story about John Muir. Once, when there was a storm approaching the place where he was in California, he climbed the tallest redwood tree in the area and then tied himself to the top of the tree, so that he could feel the full force of the storm! He wrote about his experience in his book, ‘The Mountains of California’, in a chapter titled ‘A Wind-storm in the Forests’. Here is part of what he wrote about that experience:
“Never before did I enjoy so noble an exhilaration of motion. The slender tops fairly flapped and swished in the passionate torrent, bending and swirling backward and forward, round and round, tracing indescribable combinations of vertical and horizontal curves, while I clung with muscles firm braced, like a bobo-link on a reed. . . . I kept my lofty perch for hours, frequently closing my eyes to enjoy the music by itself, or to feast quietly on the delicious fragrance that was streaming past.”
As to whether or not I am in the eye of the storm, as I wrote I am not sure. It feels more like I am in the storm and enjoying going with it, bending with the forces of nature. Despite my not knowing whether I am in the eye of a storm, I can say that I’ve received a couple of stormy messages from individuals who let me know they do not think I should be in Russia at this time. It seems they believe they know better how I should live my life than I do! Ultimately, I’m a curious explorer of life, in Russia now for the same reasons I do anything. I’m definitely not here to make some kind of political statement, and I am certainly not going to stay away because of the political views of anyone else.
Like Muir, I am enjoying the feelings that come with being myself and in exploring whatever I am drawn to by life, then dealing with the results, even when it involves doing what most people would be very uncomfortable with and would never want to experience. I accept that my path is different. And I’m happy to find beauty everywhere, sometimes in the strangest of places.
Thank you for once again triggering a deeper understanding of myself.
ABSOLUTELY ASTOUNDING GB !
Those Castles and Cathedrals …incredible
Best line YET…The Buck Stops Here ! 🙂
Thanks for these..What an incredible City Moscow is …the lights !!!
Meanwhile in New York City and Chicago and Los Angeles !!!
PS…..Wonderous response to a friend.
You do know that the US Government has strongly recommended US Citizens leave Russia….Just about the time you arrived
🙂
Thanks for bringing us all along on this incredible journey …Feeling a little guilty that we get to experience it from the comfort of home ..
I knew you would enjoy the no buck sign. I howled with laughter when I saw it.
No need to feel guilty. I’m here reporting just so you can travel with me while in the comfort of your own home! Heck, isn’t that why you pay me the big bucks?!
Besides, I inhabit a guilt-free universe.
So far, not another gringo to be seen and many surprised -and happy- Russians, when they discover where I’m from.
GB did you see any US gold or silver coins for sale at the coin shop?
No, I saw no US coins, only a couple of special Canadian coin sets one of which was pictured in my post a couple of days ago.