On the road again. You know I have a tendency to overdo things, and so when I say I am flying to a place where it is hot I really mean it – I fly to Athens, where wildfires sadly devour large areas and have reached suburbs. Prime minister Karamanlis has declared the state of emergency. The feeling of being a traveler comes back to me as soon as I get on the plane and I’m heading somewhere. Saved I am for now, from the depressing context that my Berlin situation imposes on me. Saved and aware of a weakness I need to get rid of. At the airport they find the pocket knife and the bottle of sunscreen I had forgotten to take out of my hand luggage, and those things are of course confiscated. I protest and insist that they put them on display with a little note “zum verschenken” (to give away) attached to it. That way I don’t feel bad about it. I do feel bad however about the way I reacted, telling the woman to “take everything she wants” because I am pissed off. Where is the Buddhist calmness I want to command (I’m not saying that calmness is the ultimate wisdom, I am just saying it is a pretty asset to have it at our command). But there is always a next time to put more of the white clay of wisdom on your face.
The flight is good, as is seeing my friend again after a few perhaps defining years. We celebrate and smile and say goodnight to Athens.