ACCIDENTAL DELAYS

My life is all about running around, I think I have loaded too much on my plate and not enough time to do it all in a day, and in the midst of delays and constantly at war with time I have learned to listen to the little voices inside me. I am talking about little delays that could end up saving your life, or little whispers in your ear that tell you "do not leave yet, wait five more minutes".... But not all delays have the same postitive end, It's not a generalized theory, but few of the scenarios where delays have been executed as disguised blessings.

We have read and heard of scenarios where someone's life was saved only because they were running five minutes late, or got stuck in the traffic jam, or couldn't find the car keys.... These little delays always have a reason. Of course there could also be a flip side to everything in life, but I am talking about scenarios I have heard most of, and it's usually the "delays" that have inspired human stories. Overslept, lost car keys, car didnt start this morning, couldnt find my purse, my kids were running late, my mom called, my dog wouldnt go potty, started raining, my husband started arguing, coffee machine broke, etc, etc.........

~I knew someone who used to work at the World Trade. And the morning when the buildings collapsed, he was running late because his daughter missed the school bus and he had to end up dropping her to school and that pushed him back on time. And I remember him telling me, how frustrated he was as he had an important meeting that day and he was horribly late and rushing from the train station, he was about to cross the street to get to the world trade building, when he saw his office collapse. 

~Another story from someone I know, missed their flight due to early morning rush hour back up and later on heard in the news the plane had crashed soon after take off. Never seen anyone so happy missing a flight.

~ A friend of mine, took a wrong exit on the highway, frustrated with his misjudgement, he pulled over at the gas station, took a quick break, headed in the convenient store for coffee and ask for directions when he overheard a conversation about a ten car pile up that just happened. He then realized he was being watched by a higher power and taking a wrong exit saved his life. He could have been one of the cars in the pile up. His wrong exit turned out to be a delay that saved his life. And he has never complained about wrong turns ever since.

 There are countless stories like these. There's only one conclusion, you are delayed because it's not your time yet,  but we do not realize that while we are stuck in the rush hour traffic, or experiencing the longest Starbucks queue in history... As we all exaggerate. :-) Few months back, I was traveling to Europe, even though the excitement was child like, the delays at the airport was exhausting, I had a three hour delay, and I kept chanting the mantra in my mind, it's all good. I am already delayed, so what's the point of getting frustrated. And there could be a reason why I am still stuck at the gate with the rest of my  fellow passengers, and while going through a delay, the maintenance crew that was reloading, refueling and rechecking the plane for the next flight, picked out a few mechanical problems in the aircraft and we were re-routed to a new a gate and a new aircraft. So a three hour delay turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Every time when my usual routine get's disturbed, even though sometimes, well most of the time, I get frustrated, I do try to console myself with one thing, and that is, "There is a reason", so calm down.... And I really do believe we have guardian angels, or whatever one might prefer, something, somewhere is watching out for us. Sometimes the opposite could happen, like I said there's always a flip side to everything but then, that's Life, it has it's arrangements and misfortunes. But we are celebrating Life in this blog, so I wanted to bring out the positive. So one lesson I have learned is listen to the voice inside you and if you are stuck somewhere, there is a reason for it, so calm your butt down and go with the angel's flow. Sometimes in a rush of getting somewhere on time could cost you a lifetime. The best way to deal with things is, feel the little pull backs, nudges, or quiet whispers, they could be telling you something.  And next time you are stuck somewhere and experiencing long delays, remind yourself the power of Life, it could make you or break you, so go with it and do not challenge time or it's momentum. We live in the unknown everyday, so what's the rush. 

One more thing, I am talking about accidental delays, not purposelly delaying yourself because of your punctuality problems. Being punctual and getting somewhere on time is the best discipline in life, so there's a fine line in between. :-)

And before I log off, I am glad I wrote this blog today, as I am also running late to be somewhere!!!!

BEAUTY IN MOTION

                                           What delight
                     To back the flying steed, that challenges
                                             The wind for speed! - seems native more of air
                                                                    Than earth! - whose burden only lends him fire!
                    Whose soul, in his task, turns labour into sport;
                                            Who makes your pastime his!  I sit him now!
                                                                    He takes away my breath!  He makes me reel!
                                     I touch not earth - I see not - hear not.  All
                                                           Is ecstasy of motion!

                                          ~James Sheridan Knowles, The Love-Chase

 Photography by Lex Aliviado.

METAMORPHOSIS

                 "JUST WHEN THE CATERPILLAR THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS OVER, IT BECAME A BUTTERFLY"

Just when we think Life is over, we are born again...That brings me to my next question,

do you believe in Reincarnation? Although the title of my blog has nothing to do with reincarnation, the idea behind the transformation is pretty much related. This blog is my personal opinion and feelings towards the understanding. I have my own reasoning based on my logic and life observations, a little bit comes through the faith you have practiced and also on the spiritual basis of life. Not every religion believes in reincarnation, I solely believe in it because I think heaven and hell are right here on earth. I do not believe hell is a place with horned devils and heaven with sunny skies, because a soul needs to live and learn. I also do not believe that God is going to quarantine human souls and just keep them somewhere unknown and I do not believe this life is it, whatever years we are going to live in this life time is all we got, it just doesn't make sense.  Instead I call reincarnation as "Navigating Nirvana". I believe we keep coming back as humans, to keep repaying our sins until one day we have a clean slat and we receive nirvana.  See that makes sense to me, because that's when Karma comes in effect, by action, thoughts and words, man is releasing spiritual energy to the universe and in turn is affected by influences coming in his direction. We reincarnate as human beings in order to evolve our souls, in order to learn and re-live the experience again. Everything in the universe, is a constant cycle, from cosmos, nature, life and death. When something dies, it gets transformed into another. There is no halt in the universal law, everything has an end and a beginning. I remember in physics we were taught, no energy is lost, it just gets transformed, then why not humans. It's not an easy thing to grasp or believe, it's a personal choice, but to me this understanding makes a hell a lot of sense then waiting at the gates of hell or heaven, so what the heck am I doing here? Have you ever seen a flower die and never bloom again or when the moon surrenders to the morning skies, it still incarnates every evening. When a star dies it turns into supernova :-) If everything is JUST going to have an end, then where is the Beginning? And where there's a Beginning something had to end. It's all connected, intertwined together. The continuous succession of birth, death and rebirth permeates nature even though our own lives seem linear. So it's no surprise that some ancient observers looked at the seeming linearity of human existence and decided that life, like the natural world, might actually be more cyclical than linear. My curiosity led me to read books by Dr Brian L. Weiss ( Many Lives, Many Masters) and Michael Newton, a hypnotherapist, his groundbreaking research was published in the best-selling book Journey of the souls: case studies of life between lives (Llewellyn, 1994) and his book draws upon thousands of transcripts of people who, under hypnotic regression, have re-experienced being between lives. From the higher perspective of their soul they are able to explain what happens after death and before birth. This includes information about the levels of consciousness through which reincarnating souls evolve.  But then someone might argue, where is the proof of life reborn? Well in that case, where is the proof that God exists?

So it's all a matter of faith and belief, there is no permanent answer or a conclusive theory. But when you a see a miracle of a butterfly it all makes sense. 

" The soul comes from within into the human body, as into a temporary abode, and it goes out of it anew it passes into other habitation, for the soul is immortal. It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do no die, but only retire a little from sight and afterwards return again. Nothing is dead; men feign themselves dead, and endure mock funerals... and there they stand looking out of the window, sound and well, in some strange disguise."

                                                 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"My life often seems to me like a story that has no beginning and no end. I had the feeling that I was an historical fragment, an excerpt for which the preceding and succeeding text was missing. I could well imagine that I might have lived in the former centuries and there encountered questions I was not yet able to answer; that I had been born again because I had not fulfilled the task given to me."

                                             ~ Carl Jung

A POSTERIORI

" From what is after"- Knowledge that comes after perceptual experience or depends upon experience for its justification........

Sometimes as human beings our minds are conditioned to just see what we want to see and thus lead us to the same experiences over and over again. I came across few people who are still stuck in a whirlwind of  their circumstances and yet they still question the truth as a deceiver. I love observing circumstances, and people's ideologies. It's fascinating, it's the best way to learn things about yourself, to correct yourself, your ideologies and beliefs. These people stuck in a whirlwind are  sitting in darkness for too long and when they finally come out into the light of day, they are not able to open up their eyes enough to see the light. The problem here is not why you/they/we are stuck, the problem is how to correct the mental vision to come out of it. If we grew up learning the ocean is blue, we may infer that the ocean in the future will also be blue. Don't we all live with Inductive Inference, just like David Hume reflected on the fact that "we often reason from what has been observed in the past to what will be observed in the future."
We as human beings, have conditioned our minds, everything we sense is all mechanical. We all have gone through this. I recently inferred myself in a situation in exactly the same manner, and I had to stop, take a break and ask myself, am I not doing the same thing as others? I have conditioned my mind to see what I want to see and thus creating a mental vision of that situation and that means, every action, reaction and reasoning will only and only be based on those experiences.  Now most of the time we have to base the simple truth on what we have observed and understood, but the human error is conditioning our minds too quickly. And I think that philosophy applies to everything in our lives... When problems and situations are observed from all the angles, you will see that everyone at the end is standing on their own podium of truth. There's not point of restoring an idea or a thought that doesn't lead anywhere, instead create a new thought process, and a new vision and who knows things may get better for you. You can't change others but you can change yourself. And despite of all that, if people don't leave you a choice, then you got to choose. Life is sometimes a game of charades, and humans are sometimes masked deceptions, your survival tool is your inner knowledge and your adaptability of situations. If you can't beat the truth, then be the truth.

LIFE COLLAGE

Things I have loved doing this year, little indulgences, favorite things to places and thoughts...    

Drinking: Mocha freezer, my new found indulgence. I can't go a day without it..

Reading: A lot more this year, than I ever have. Books have always been a passion, now I am fanatic

My Days off: Spend a lot of time on my computer blogging.

Loving: My new found passion. Photography. It defines me.

Eating: Not a health freak, but have loved eating fruits and salads

Noticing: I am much calmer than I ever was.

Looking for: Amazing things everywhere. Always alert for a beautiful vision.

Love: Red Wine. I have corks to prove it. Tried different ones in the past year.

Bookmarking: Trips I have planned.

New project: Designing a website for a coffee chain.

Design: I am crazy into Buddha/Asian Decor. And have spent months shopping for home decor stuff.

 Wearing: A lot of maxi dresses and Harem pants.

Appreciating: Life

Capturing: The best moments in Life.

My reading places: Panera's, Crispers, Starbucks..

Knowing: I have amazing friends that have stood by me.

Waiting: For new explorations.

 Spending a lot of time on: Google.

 Love spending time: Getting Cozy, done that a lot this year.

Found: The key to Happiness.

Feeling: Life

RUMINATIONS

                                              " I closed my mouth and spoke to you in a hundred silent ways."
                                                                                                       ~ RuMi

     Don't go anywhere without me,

             Let nothing happen in the sky apart from me,

                     or on the ground, in this world or that world,

                               Without my being in its happening,

                                          Vision, see nothing I don't see,

                                                     Language, say nothing.

                                                            The way the night knows itself with the moon,

                                                                      be that with me. Be the rose nearest to the

                                                                                                                            thorn that I am.

                                                                                                                         ~RuMi

ON POETRY AND ART

 My favorite indulgences. Below is a painting by Louis Leopold Boilly that I admire and one of the famous quotes by George Eliot... The painting and the poetry blend with each other perfectly.

A GIRL AT A WINDOW BY LOUIS LEOPOLD BOILLY (1761-1845)

 “She opened her curtains, and looked out towards the bit of road that lay in view, with fields beyond outside the entrance-gates. On the road there was a man with a bundle on his back and a woman carrying her baby; in the field she could see figures moving - perhaps the shepherd with his dog. Far off in the bending sky was the pearly light; and she felt the largeness of the world and the manifold wakings of men to labor and endurance. She was a part of that involuntary, palpitating life, and could neither look out on it from her luxurious shelter as a mere spectator, nor hide her eyes in selfish complaining.”
― George Eliot, Middlemarch

QUO VADIS?

The captain has turned on the seat belt sign and we will soon be departing from the Familiar to the Unknown.

Wow! How does it feel when you are sitting in the aisle of life and your soul is the captain?? A lack of control from the fear of unknown flying over the ocean of doubt... Isn't this what most of us deal with? And if you do not know what I am talking about, then you need soul searching..

Going through soul altering changes is like a journey.

~ Pack your bags ( As in, prioritize your emotions, morals, judgement, alertness, and beliefs)

~Drive to the airport ( As in, taking a NERVE wrecking trip to your heart)

~Go through security ( As in, sort out through your failures, disappointments, heartaches, instability)

~Look for your departure gate ( As in, looking for the sorted out thoughts to now cross over to your

                                                    soul)

~Board the plane ( As in, you are now seated in the flight of challenges with the rest of the people 

                               and finding the balance to make it to your destination)

Life sometimes, is exactly that! We sit in this winged vehicle made comfortable for us, flight attendants serving us, entertainment to keep us distracted, seat belt signs going on and off like an intention radar to keep people as law abiding citizens and the captains voice a delight to soothe our doubts, and the window seat explorations are soul healing, but on the contrary how easily we forget how much work and dedication it must have taken to take off from one destination to another. Our mind and soul work the same way. The subtle changes you make within yourself makes it a pretty comfortable soul changing ride. Now what if the same winged vehicle goes into emergency mode, What do you do? 

Life has a lot of emergency modes like that, and people who are well equipped with the situation will most of the time, survive. A journey from your mind to your soul, is not an easy one, it will take a lot of ups and downs to bring the perfect equilibrium. Every intention, thought becomes crucial. Every taboo, judgements, morals you have been brought up on, becomes a defendant. It basically comes down to chasing yourself, rectifying your ideologies, getting off the dogma and most of all asking questions to those who do not like to answer, not as a self gratifying act but the means to learn and understand. As humans we all the have same feelings, we all feel elation, sadness, confusion, bitterness, anger, exhilaration but we never realize what's hidden behind it, and the sooner we sort out these little annoying air pockets of life, the faster we start shaping out worldview and life becomes a window seat exploration. I very truly and honestly believe when you have the intention to get on a journey and your slowly work on it, you will have a very smooth landing. The best lessons in life are people. You will be faced with situations you want to run away from, depend yourself on someone else, someone who appeared out of nowhere and challenged every being out of you, they might tap the wrong side of your shoulder to get your attention but in the midst of this, get off the seat, stop being fussy, own up to your mistakes and rectify them, have the confidence to stand up, and filter out people who are taking an extra seat, never feel threatened by people who are opinionated, challenge yourself, be happy with what you have and make the best of it and most of all we are all on a separate itinerary of life, so never compare. Once the fortitude and discipline is put into place, everything that is happening around you will transform into a different vision. Intentional things will now look like, passing turbulence's, annoying passengers ( as in, people) will teach you to stay focused with your patience. Basically you will have to re-frame your whole understanding process of the world you live in, and what roles you are going to have to play, it will all tune itself to the chord. Every journey is a collection of memories and experiences, given to us by our surroundings and by those who surround us. We may not have any companion in this soul searching journey but in truth we are never alone, we as humans sustain ourselves on another. True destination will never be non-stop, you will have to get off several times, change planes, wait for the departure, deal with delays but eventually we all get there. And that is where your true soul lives.

"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via"

"There is no easy way from the earth to the stars"

THREE GRAINS OF WHEAT

                 "What would you be willing to give up to discover the world beyond your front door?"

It is my honor to talk about this amazing book, by a great Author and a dear Friend Mike Papasavas. I first met Mike in 2009 in New Jersey. We had our little chit chats here and there, and I always felt something was different about him. He was not an average human being, there's more to him than what he shows. A well spoken, calm and content personality Mike, blew me away through his writings. I am very proud to have a signed copy by the Author himself, and I cherish it. I wanted to write about his book from the very first day I started blogging, but as everyone knows by now, It takes me a while to write about things I am immensely passionate about. I guess, I have some kind of psychological glitch. This book will change your perspective about life and life challenges. I cant say enough, I was amazed at the depth of his journey from Germany to Canada and into America. A book full of life challenges, social situations, humor, sadness and love. Thanks Mike for being a good Friend and Inspiring me to write, you might not know this, but your book was my inspiration. And Thank you for always keeping up with my blogs and your motivating and inspiring comments. 

Mike's book - Three Grains of Wheat is available on Amazon.

 Here is one of the chapters from Mike Papasavas Book - Three Grains of Wheat

  CHAPTER 49 - DREAMS AND REALITIES
                                                              

One night, while I said my prayers before I went to bed, an impulsive thought flashed through my mind: "Is it possible that there is nothing after death?" I shrugged off this disconcerting thought and hit the hay. Somewhere in the wee hours of the morning, I had a most extraordinary dream:

I found myself elevated to a different plateau than my usual, earthly surroundings and onto an open field filled with wildflowers. The sun was shining on that late morning, the birds were singing, and the bees were buzzing busily to retrieve the nectar from the rainbow of blossoms. I stood in the middle of the field for a while, admiring the majestic scene and enjoying the serenity I felt.

All of a sudden, I saw a tall man dressed in a denim coveralls. He was holding a saw and standing next to an unfinished wooden horse he was working on.

"Come to me, don't be afraid, " he said as a wide smile spread over his gentle face. "I understand you had a question,"

"Yes, I did but... how did you know?" I replied with a trembling voice. " It doesn't matter how I know, but I would like to answer your question, " he replied, beckoning me to approach him. "Come, my friend, hop on behind me and take a short ride on my wooden horse." Unafraid, I climbed aboard the wooden steed behind this kindly man. "Hold tight!" he cried, and at that point we whizzed through space at the speed of light. I was overtaken by an unusual sensation of contentment, ecstacy and serenity: a unique feeling, beyond mortal exhiliration and the power of human words to describe. " Don's stop, please don't stop!" I yelled as orgasmic waves of pleasure washed over me.

My guide laughed and said, :Ah, my friend, this is just a sample of what afterlife is like! I have answered your question! "

I remember the man said he is taking me back. I awoke with a gasp and bolted upright to a sitting position in the bed. As i could not sleep anymore, I went downstairs, sat on the couch, and spent than an hour contemplating this wonderful, phantasmagorical dream. It was the reassurance I had needed to strengthen my faith and , at the same time, to look at life with a more positive attitude. I couldn't have had a more profound answer to my doubting question. The dream convinced me that life is great, before and after death. 

                                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last but not least, One of my favorite. One of Mike's writing's for his wife Angela, "ONLY YOU"

                                                                      

 CHAPTER 59 - UNSPOKEN WORDS

                                                                           

 ONLY YOU

My mind wanders in the skies, In the mountains and valleys, And...among nature's beauty. There's you... blending so nicely with all those beautiful things. I connect with nature and you are there. I smell the flowers and I sense your presence. I hear music, I hear humming and... There are angels whispering your name. Angelica! Angelica!

What a beautiful name, what a beautiful person. A blend of everything with kindness, Understanding and selfless loving care... Giving, giving giving, more than she ever receives. But once, I was told I had the right to dream. That I can have a partner, a wife like that person. Am I still dreaming? What is the difference between dream and reality? Mine is " YOU"

                                               

LOOSE YOURSELF

 

A much anticipated blog about loosing yourself, not in the madness but in wanderlust, in exploring, bringing a change forward. I can name at least few people who hate the place they live in, the weather, high paying jobs that demand nothing but your exhausted soul day in and day out, work politics, jealous co-workers, rush hour traffic and bills every month and happy hour beers that serve nothing but an induced trance to forget all the days' worries. And to my surprise I have also met people who think that's normal, and that's what life is!! I get astounded with people who think Life is all about securing the future financially and materialistically. Well there is a little bit of truth in it, we all need money to survive and buy the luxuries we all dream of, but does that mean there is no way around it otherwise? I have a personal motto, "If you can't live it, in the moment, at least dream it", because dreams take you where you want to go....At least there will no bill for it at the end of the month.. My job gives me an opportunity to come across a lot of people, and I have picked up the habit of being the soul of the conversation, I am secrectly understanding, observing, analyzing their thought process, not to judge but to experience the world and the people in it. It helps me grow within, helps me understand there are too many forms in all shapes and sizes, and the most astonishing fact I learned was majority of people I meet, have no dreams, no goals, no hobbies and nothing to look forward to, but Friday Night, Saturday barbeque, Sunday laundry and Monday morning and the rest of the Zombie week till TGIF ( Thank God It's Friday)... so on and so forth...

I was stuck in traffic last week, and was just dazing around, and every person I saw either behind the wheel, crossing the street, or just bumming around made me feel like I am in David Moody's book,

 ( A world full of living zombies, just existing without existence). The reason why people have become zombie like is because we have stopped changing. We have become too comfortable in an uncomfortable zone, I dont know how is it possible but I guess the human race is getting good at it. I used to be a Zombie once, sounds weird, but yea, and one day I got home from work and decided this is it... I might not be able to change anything drastically in my life at the moment, as I still need to work to pay bills, and go grocery shopping to fill up the fridge and finish my laundry but I am going to have to spice up life a little bit and start dreaming a dream. I couldnt spice it up as much, but just a little pinch of this and the dab of that, and just doing so, changed my whole perspective even in the little mundane things, like routine. I really admire people like Cheryl Strayed or Elizabeth Gilbert who give up their luxuries and come out of their comfort zones to explore something more bigger and better and give life a chance to prove that it's not just the bills, and dead end jobs that define us, there is more to it. Whats the point of making money with an exhausted soul inside. Not everyone has the courage to go to the extremes, but at least try as far as you can go. what's the worst that can happen? And I am not saying make random decisions and wind up homeless, but dream, plan and execute. Come out, explore, take a month off and wander off in a different country, dream of a different lifestyle, observe those who have achieved it and learn ... I have seen people who are perfectly peaceful with their so called income and basic necessities, it's all because they have decluttered their life back to basics, and find peace in the solace of nature. I have also met or read of those, who have left their secured jobs and comfortable lifestyle and moved to another country, state, or place.  There are so many stories around us of people with lost dreams, or those who give up their dreams because they want to earn, most of us are stuck in a monotonous working life that we hate but can't survive without, can you imagine those people living like that all their life??? even the thought of it scares me, let alone living it!!!  I have noticed people who are adventurers, explorers, people from creative fields are more alive than the dead end job-bers ( wow, I just made this word)... And if you are doing what you love to do from 9-5, that's great, but what is next?? What's your life after 5 PM? 

I moved 7 times in my life, alot of people thought I was aimless and just wandering about. But the amount of freedom I gained was a great payback. Today I might not choose to move for a while, but I have the memory of having the courage to embrace change and come out of my comfort zone to start new. Even if the move turns out to be a failure, big deal, life is not over, but you will learn alot from it. Every move made me better with life challenges and in fact made me a better person. I learned to understand my likes and dislikes, I became more intuitive with my choices, helped me erase those baseless fears we all have glued to our conscious.

If you are not happy with your job, and you have enough money saved up, bring a change. Get out, explore, move out, change your environment, the time is never right until the day you do it. If nothing extreme, then change the way you do things, the way you commute, the way you see things in life, look for things that give you purpose it could be anything. If you spend 8 hours making your boss happy, spend the rest making yourself happy.

" The great thing in the world, is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving"
                                                                                      ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

SIRENS OF THE SEA

Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away. 

                                                                  ~Sarah Kay

 The ocean, a reoccurring memory time and time again. I love the beach when I want to get back to myself or unwind. I do not like to over indulge my visits, because I will loose the value and the vast meaning of it and yet, I know it's somewhere close. I guess that's the advantage of living in a tropical state. The sea, teaches you, change is inevitable. Although it remains the same, it's predictions are enigmatic. Whenever I daze into it, I always feel like it's alive and listening. Walking by the shore, it erases our footprints, to give us a chance to relive it again. Just like the old parable about the hole you leave when you take your hand out of the water...She teaches us to live- silent and yet full of life.  

“The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too” 

( Vincent Van Gogh). 

I was recently reading about John F. Kennedy, and one of his remarks, hit the note.....

  "I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came."

                                           ~ John F. Kennedy ( 1962)