GERMANY!

10^th Stop: Paderborn, Berlin, Germany

After hours on the train from Belgium to the Northeast part of Germany Paderborn, changing a few trains, one being delayed, and had to rearrange trains, I was really on an adventure. Later, met a girl from Greece, who I got a free cab-ride with to her hotel then walked, but got lost near midnight in a deserted city, Paderborn, I finally arrived tired but joyful to see my friend at last! In my last blog, I wrote myself this quote...

To Die is to Live. 

To Live is to Love. 

To Love is to be Nothing. 

To be Nothing is Everything.

Obviously this phrase that I just wrote down sums up how I try to practice each and every day with each person in each moment-much easier said than DONE. I would say it is definitely easier with strangers, and the hardest with the ones closest, the ones that we know will always be there for us, will love us no matter what. That would be our family. Some define family as blood-related or whom is living under the household. However, my definition is slightly different.  I define “Family” as who I can have mutual love with, who I can treat as a brother or sister, who is part of my home that has no barriers or limits.

Shatha (Jordan) and I

So to love the ones closest is definitely the most challenging, takes the most energy, and sometimes results in failure. Failure indeed is what happened when I visited a friend from Germany. We were both deciding on where to go, how to get there, and what to do. However we had both, two different perspectives, she wanted one way and I wanted the other. In the beginning, I was very patient and accepting of her ideas, as I listened to her opinion and thoughts. However, in a human sense, I just couldn’t “die” completely to my way of doing. At certain moments, we got frustrated and agitated with one another, and there was tension between us. In my heart, I didn’t feel at peace and knew speaking more wouldn’t solve anything.

When words fail, 

                actions SPEAK.

So after apologizing to one another, I tried to move forward. Later on when she wanted to take an evening walk outside, however my stomach had a massive cramp and would have preferred to go home, I went with her. I tried to completely forget and “ to Die” to  myself, being selfLESS, to show a small act to LOVE her. Also when she wanted to meet someone, but didn’t have enough courage to, I went with her to give her confidence. With these small acts of GREAT LOVE, I felt again at peace in my heart because I had become totally Nothing, selfLESS, died totally to MY idea, MY way, and MY thoughts, but to only do FOR the OTHER. At the end, my heart was full, filled with happiness, filled with joy, and filled of EVERYTHING.

As this experience shows how really “living” these words ain’t easy.

To Die is to Live.

 To Live is to Love. 

To Love is to be Nothing. 

To be Nothing is Everything.

let's move FORWARD. not backwards

I failed, We fail, but it’s only important to move forward, to re-start again, because if you aren’t going forward, you are going backwards because time keeps ticking.

Re-starting isn’t later, isn’t tomorrow, isn’t when the other person does the same,

 it starts with...

YOU.

NOW!

in Berlin

So re-start?