Day 9 - Apocalypse

Today, at midnight, my ten-day isolation ends. Tomorrow morning at seven, I would be in my Korean colleague's car on my way to our appointments, to an almost normal life. I take advantage of my last hours of solitude which are a subtle mixture of relief and at the same time of fears. I wonder if I made good use of these ten days, the bubble in which I am locked will soon burst pouring its flood of revelations on an almost new "me".

The Apocalypse comes from the ancient Greek apokalupsis which means "revelation". It is a term connoted "end of the world" among other causes in biblical literature. It would be more in fact of the "End of a world", a revival following a revelation. I come away from this experience physically transformed, having lost at least four or five kilograms. I have demonstrated, to anyone who wants to hear it, that I am not addicted to Cigars since this withdrawal made me neither hot nor cold. I managed to write, photograph, create, from almost nothing. It is the ability to see the small, insignificant things and be content with them.

We would have lost this capacity to be satisfied with small things whereas the absolute totality of our societies are oriented towards consumption, always more. It is good sometimes to look back on our daily requirement level and ask ourselves the right questions.

As the Japanese poet SantôkaTaneda invites us, "Wisdom is to see the new in the ordinary, adjusting to the world as it is. There are treasures hidden in the present moment."

I have no idea if I touch the wisdom, but what is certain is that this purely temporal experience pushes me to appreciate and enjoy the present even more intensely. The future is a fantasy while the past is dead. Only the present moment exists.

It's very refreshing to feel like I'm on the eve of an exam. This is it, we are there. Have I worked enough, am I ready? Get out of your review bubble to immerse yourself in the trials of life and time. Take back my place in the traffic. T