Do you have a destination?

Destination:
1. the predetermined end of a journey or voyage

2. the ultimate end or purpose for which something is created or a person is destined
(The Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia)

A few days ago I was making my way out from a train station, a long way from where I am now.
When I was about to cross the road outside the station building, I was stopped by an old man.

"Do you have a destination?" he asked me.
I wasn't sure what he meant. I was AT my destination, leaving the train station, not entering it.
"Excuse me?" I said.
"Do you have a destination?" the man said again.
"I'm sorry, i don't know what you mean." I didn't, and I walked away.
It hit me later on. Maybe he asked me about my destination in life, maybe it was only me who immediately connected the question to the travel I had done. And it left me thinking. Did I have a destination? Do I?

I'm not sure. I want to live my life trying to be as a good of a person as possible. I share my love that is often over-flowing, I try to be kind, just, helpful. And I kind of have always thought these things will in the end, give me a good life and a happy one. That I will feel fulfilled. So what do I need a destination for? Maybe I do. Maybe that was the point.

Everything is illuminated

Always when in Italy, I am put against the same problem: Which books to buy, when luggage is limited and there are billions of great, cheap books all around you. Italians know how to set the price for a book. I am like a kid in a candystore when in Italy. All over the place there are bookstores and bookstores and bookstores, filled with the most marvelous treasures!

Today I left one of those stores with two books in my hand. I had, as very often these past days, spent the morning shopping around in one of them. The burning sun outside wasn't enough for me to leave the freshness of the store and it's many-coloured "lecca leccas" (lollipops) - books that is. Very pleased with my purchases I felt the Italian version of Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is illuminated and as well the Italian version of Paulo Coelho's The Pilgrimage (O diário de um mago) burning in my hands. Ogni cosa è Illuminato and Il cammino di Santiago.

The first one I had to get - it is, by far, one of the best books ever written and not a second will be wasted when reading it, instead, it will open your soul and it will let the magic find its way inside. The second one I have, oddly enough, never read. But as I got the special edition of the book, the covers will match the calendars of 2009 and 2010 as well as the book "Love" with graphics by Catalina Estrada. (Please have a look at Catalina's website, showing her beautiful style.)

Yes, it was a good day.

Pics of the day

The best thing with being on a vacation is that the level of inspiration always goes up. Here are some pics from yesterday.

No good with faces

Jack --
Do you remember when all magic required, was to suddenly hear you sing on the radio?
I always felt so blessed, even knowing,
that I could have picked up the album from the pile on my stereo
and listened to those same songs.
Any time.
I always found a song to go
with my mood swings, rising up, going down.
There were you. Singing those words that I needed you to.
Jack --
Something happened and it left me
gasping for air for a few moments.
Maybe you grew up, or maybe it was me.
Maybe we both did?
Or maybe you moving on
to more ordinary things
didn't match my mood swings.
No more.
And as I turned up the volume
to better grasp your lyrics
I was left in what felt like a silly space
between then and now.
I felt the magic return
I felt the magic return
No good with faces and I'm bad with names.
One single line could have done it for me, but it continued,
leading me further down the road
that we walked so many times
contemplating life.
Jack --
Let's not be afraid of our reflections.
I knew you would return, if not for long,
then even for the length of one song.