This is the end of my travel log (not of my weblog, of course). I travelled 32 cities in 12 states. And I took my trip as some sort of roadwork which enabled me to meet wonderful people, visit interesting places, receive a very diverse impression of the U.S. as an assembly of cultures, traditions and lifestyles. One part of this roadwork is done now. But there is still a construction site left that will remain part of my life. Not in terms of bricks and mortar that have to be smoothed out but in terms of observation and contemplation.
When I look back to all the experiences and observations that shaped my stay in the USA I realize quite clearly that there is a part of this country with a landscape that really changes your perception. The vast and harsh dimension of the sandy plain and the rocky bens of the Texas Mountain Trail reduce the point of view of the observer to a thin line: the horizon. Below and above the horizon a space dilates. And in between there is this sharp line of perception that reduces the observer’s point of view to a single deep cut into endlessness.
What opens up below and above is a range of thoughts, insights and feelings that can pave their way into ones mind and awareness and spread out in a room that might have never been opened up like this before. Below this horizon there is a history of experiences, encounters, thoughts and feelings that suddenly become clear and sharpen in their outline and relevance. Some become prevalent, some are disguised as marginal. And there also emerges another space above the horizon where you can compose your reflections to new patterns, build connections between people and things never related before.
What happens in these moments? The observer’s point of view is concentrated on the thin line of the horizon and freed from all distractions. As a deep cut trough the differences of past and future it reduces the complexity of the present. In some moments this can be a frightening experience, a sad one sometimes as well. But it might also be an extraordinary auspicious moment in life.
I liked this experience very much. It was like turning off the auto focus of my mind and brain that normally helps me to locate the tasks and challenges of daily life routine without wasting too much energy (and therefore sometimes also distracts me from detecting the periphery that might even be more interesting and challenging). In any case it’s a unique moment of reflection that becomes part of the space below and above the deepest cut.
This is it. This will remain. And this opens up doors that appear along the way of life. I will have to decide whether to pass or bypass them. And in the first place …
… which door … ?
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