i am interupting my own story of sri lanka to take a breath. i have not really taken a breath since before i left the country. in an effort to capture all the moments – by camera or by pen – to expereince all the wonders – both beach and development – to see all my friends – newly discovered and old ones – i have been running nonstop for four weeks.

it is starting to catch up with me.

all of a sudden my bed seems to be the most beautiful place and my apartment – hotbox that it is – the place i crave to return.

in recent weeks my life has changed. it isn’t noticable to the average roving eye – and probably not even to those who know me well and help me to make my way through the maze of life…but i can feel it. i can see how my life is taking its own path, how the decsicons i make affect that path and how empowering and overwhelming that can be.

i met a man in sri lanka who lost everything in the tsunami. both parents, his home, his business. even his will…for a while. seven months later he is strating to take back the parts of his life that he can. the control, the business, the peace of mind. he buried his parents…went through all sorts of frustration so that he could claim the bodies from the government before they mass buried them…he built his own coffins since there were none available, and he found a place in the forest to lay them to rest. in the coming weeks he will break ground on the new restaurant.

if he can manage the changes of a world that turned on its side after a 40 ft wall of water washed everything familiar away…i can decide what i want to do next…where i want to go.

i’ll fill in the blanks of my trip (hopefully with photos) in the coming weeks, but for now i’m concentrating on the lessons i learned that were not part of the class.

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