Paragliding temptation

Yesterday by pure coincidence I ended up in San Diego Torrey Pines glideport where they practice hangliding and paragliding. It was an awesome spectacle to see all the paragliders in the sky, probably more than twenty of them as the wind seemed to be just perfect.

It reminded me of my honeymoon times in Rio de Janeiro where each of us got to do hangliding with an instructor over the beautiful "morros" and beach. The experience was so worth it, scary I have to admit, as the photos show, but nevertheless amazing. It was the closest I've ever been to being a bird and it really felt that way. When I landed happiness emotions were so strong that tears ran over my cheeks.




Paragliding seems like a softer experience, probably less risky for the untrained person and even posicionally it looks like the feeling should be more like you're back in the old times when humanity is discovering flying for the fist time, plus of course it seems to be a very unusual pleasant experience in itself.

This could be the perfect anniversary present for Edu and me, we'll see if we have the guts this time around ;)

Highway buddies

Every once in a while when driving on a highway I find another car that is in the same frequency that I am. Little by little as I go from line to line trying to optimize my driving (which means going as fast as I can without getting a ticket) I start to notice another car that finds the same strategies that I do and we start switching places in alternatively leading the way. I call them highway buddies, someone whom I know nothing about that makes me company for some time in the highway sharing the same driving patterns as well as driving goal. The funny part is that finding a highway buddy can make me experience deep happiness. Of course this is specially true when I'm driving under the California sky all blue and shinny, between the soft mountains that surround Temecula with no major worries in my head ;)

I guess the same thing is true in life itself, there's these friends or known people that just go along some periods of life, you don't know them much, you don't talk much but you share some time together and you're in sync. Temporarily you share a common goal and your strategy is similar so you feel this empathy and they even make you happy as you go around. Sometimes as in the highway case because of situations this is the most you'll get of some relationships and I still think it's worth it.

Still so tribal ...

I'm amazed to see how tribal we still are nowadays. If you're in my tribe then I care for you and I have all the patience and love in the world, I feel for you and I sympathize with your pain and happiness, but, if you're in the tribe from across the street I most likely will judge you harshly and won't go the extra step to help you.

I find this to be true in many different levels that range from the individuals to societies and countries. I see it happening in my family and friends circles as well as in whole communities when it comes to politics and wars.

This is so animal, so primitive, that it is really time for us to realize it makes no sense at all. We're all persons and the person walking by in front of me has the same human nature that I do, they'll feel pain and excitement in the same way I do and I need to feel compassion for them all the same I would for someone on my tribe as my kids or my best friend.

When in my Buddhist meditation class I heard my teacher talk about equanimity and this universal compassion feeling I felt so relieved that I wasn't totally crazy for thinking like this.