Jungle Chronicles #1: IN BETWEEN WORLDS

What a life. 

If you live in Croatia, you get used to needing to take 3 flights to get to South America. This time the gods of Skyscanner were kind showing me there is an option of an overnight flight from London. I was so excited to see it. Not only that I would break down my journey,  spend 11 hours in a small box up in the air at the time of my usual sleep, but I get to go to my other home, UK, and have a moment with my dear sister before I take off. 

I find it really interesting how life brings certain people together at the time around great changes or great adventures. That has been the case for me and Mira for many years. Going places or coming back changed, having a moment in between together - in between destinations, new cycles, projects, dreams coming into being - having a moment to sit down, share a meal, share stories and visions, questions and worries, having a moment to dance, oh boy, I appreciate that Spirit’s unfolding more than I can describe. 

And so it was this time - having a little intermezzo in London, eating the best soup in the world - the one that also waited for me after coming back from a 4 day fast during Vision Quest almost a year ago (thank you friend!), appreciating physicality of each others presence and being really aware of the time limit we have. Connections like that remind us. They take us in a quick washing machine of taking out whatever is irrelevant and overwhelm us with reminders of who we are through the eyes of a friend. And to make it even more special, those eyes have witnessed us and remember us in many moments that we may have already forgotten. Moments like that inspire us for the time ahead.

And so my journey started unfolding in the most beautiful way - a night and day in the city that I love, time with my friend, incredible alignment that the same friend will hold a dance ceremony next day, having time to surrender to the dance floor in between flights, to connect to the ground and the rhythm, to feel the Spirit so close in my heart, to feel my connections and make new ones as Mira was rocking it at the Ecstatic Dance UK Sunday, having the most fascinating conversation with a young man at the cafe, meeting the coolest Uber driver, having a sweet adolescent and his abuela next to me on the overnight flight, ah so many beautiful things already. 

At the same time… I could barely sleep on the plane. I was trying the few jiu-jitsu frames I know to put my self in a firm position on the window so I could fall asleep -with no luck. Not because of the frames, but because my inability to be still in that chair. Felt like the ceremony already begun.  Even so, my mom says I don’t look like I haven’t slept. She said ‘It’s because you’re young’. And I laughed at it cause half of the night I was juggling the thought I may be too old to break my body with the long flights. How absurd is what we do sometimes to get where we need to go. 

So here I am at El Dorado, airport in Bogota, waiting for my flight to Quito, trying to hack jet-lag with fasting and thinking how I’m going to have Colombian chocolate for breakfast, Well, to be honest, not really, but it’s a nice thought though. Maybe lunch. 

My spirit going at most random places trying to ground into my body after changing continets and root back to this land. There is something incredibly heartwarming having places you recognise on the other side of the world - the atmosphere, morning sunrise, favourite cafe at the airport, majority of people looking completely different than the ones at home. So different, but so alike. Such a good reminder of how much diversity exists, how little we actually know and how we can learn from one another.

I saw a video of a horse going back for two others into the fires of L.A. An incredibly courageous horse turning towards the heat and light, pure danger to help another one and a baby horse to get away. Gosh. How much love there is in this world. How much intelligence and compassion and wisdom. 

Enough for now. Hope all of you are well, and a moment I will be in Ecuador. Todo bien. 

K.