Return of the Moors: Madrid
Walking through the streets of Madrid, lugging acumbersome suitcase through roads plastered with soggy dirt and
cobblestones whilst braving intermittent sun showers, I realized seeing
Madrid the second time through is a huge comfort. The circumstances at
face value are uncomfortable. Upon closer inspection, they're still
uncomfortable, but I'm with friends and good company has a light of its
own. Akrem and Taj bring a light that I'm looking forward to uncovering
in the next weeks we'll spend traveling together. That said, the comfort
of Madrid the second time for me is in all that which I do not see. The
three of us weave through foot traffic of afternoon Madrid. McDonalds.
Narrow street. Plaza Del Sol. Twisty streets. Quick drizzle. Plaza
Mayor. Each new sight as we walk along these streets is hardly a new
sight. Even so, I'm doing alright...and there's three small comforts in
that simple fact: 1) The world is full of exciting things and new sites.
These adventures can be tamed. 2) The same adventure in different
company is a different adventure. Company is important 3) Uplifting
community is rare. It is something worth insistence and sacrifice. Stay
the course.
The world is full of exciting things and new sites. These adventures can
be tamed. The sheer quantity of cities and countrysides scattered
throughout the world coupled with the variety of adventure available in
a given city make adventure itself seem daunting. True, we do not
adventure for the sake of conquering all adventure but still there is
something to be said about feeling as though no amount of traveling can
bring you closer to point of having seen enough. My first trip to Madrid
lasted 3 days, and yet the second time around I found myself
recollecting odd street alleyways, recommending bakeries, and nodding at
all the tourist sights with patient familiarity. I have seen enough of
Madrid for myself. The adventures of the world are waiting to be
tamed...perhaps so that we can seek deeper sweetnesses.
The same adventure in different company is a different adventure.
Company is important Deeper sweetness. I'm not sure what that is but I
have a clue that part of it lies in the people who accompany you on your
adventures. We walked through Parque del Retiro. The trees were
beautiful, with the inexhaustible beauty that is characteristic of
nature, however, that novelty of the experience this time around came in
observing and listening to Taj and Akrem as we all experienced the park
together. We looked on at the same set of people and color-changing
foliage, yet somehow, this brought us to conversation of National
Healthcare, Spanish geopolitics, and more. In the midst of exploring we
set our plans to weave through the essentials: food, prayer, exciting
views. The point is, when you're in the company of those whose actions
affirm your values and whose conversation expands your mind, no matter
the destination it'll be time well spent.
Uplifting community is rare. It is something worth insistence and
sacrifice. Stay the course. I'll be honest, deriving this realization
was a bit of a stretch. Still the truth of it is intact, I believe. When
we stopped at a local mosque to pray, I was grateful for space to
worship and relax. Increasingly secular times remind me not to take such
a thing for granted. Sitting in my gratitude, though, I could not help
but feel a sense of yearning for more. Coming upon mosques that hold the
daily prayers and that have an attendance in the middle of a secular
cosmopolis is huge, but it feels like surviving. I've been blessed to
taste community that uplifts--where people remind you to pray AND urge
you to consider the deeper meaning of your prayer, where greetings are
full of pleasantries AND there is sincere follow-up about your personal
day-to-day, and where thriving upon principles seems like a common
aspiration. I've tasted it, which means it must exist. It doesn't exist
everywhere. Wherever we find ourselves survival is the first order of
business, however, I've been looking for spaces and places where
excellence in character is something on the collective conscience. In
such a space, I'm sure, there is a safety that is special--a safety
worth insisting on and sacrificing for. I've been dissuaded from that
insistence in recent moments, but observing survival once more is a
reminder of the beauty of simply being alive and it is a reminder that
insistence has a place. \]
