I was really humbled by my experience in the Wadi Rum desert as I came to understand more than in any other time I've had what a small speck of dust we are in the cosmic desert, let alone the actual desert I was sitting in. The color the desert provided was something you would only come across in a 64 Color Crayon Box that you used to use in elementary school. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was as breathtaking as it was engulfing. A cocktail of emotions swept over me that is difficult to fully express, but there was a common theme that I kept repeating: I'm so lucky! I came to this feeling even more later that night.
As I was sitting beneath the stars with my friends that I had just made from Brazil and Italy, I was moved again by that same inkling... how lucky I truly was. Here I am, healthy and happy sharing a special moment smoking shisha together with some complete strangers I had just met that I now consider brothers and a sister. We exchanged contact information and we still constantly talk to this day. A truly beautiful occurrence. But turning back to that night, I looked up at the stars and I was struck with the idea of how inconsequential and insignificant we really are. It's moments like these that bring things into perspective.
The next morning I took a camel back to base camp, but about five minutes in I realized this was a terrible idea for two reasons. The first reason was because the man I was with was abusing the camel. Now I took the camel because I believe that animals like horses and camels were created to help the human race, but never in my life have I ever abused a horse or camel I was in contact with. Now some may say that even having them in captivity is wrong and I can see a point to that, but in captivity I would never abuse them. The way this man was hitting the camel with a stick simply because the camel would stop every ten feet or so to feed on the ground, was totally wrong. I tried to get him to stop, but he spoke no English whatsoever and my Arabic was nonexistent as well. Secondly, the way the saddle was positioned made for a very uncomfortable ride as it was jamming my... well, boys you know.
Having traveled to 51 countries now and lived in over 10 of them, I have to say that the big number 50 was one of the top 5 experiences of my journey through life. I am all about experiences and fully believe that happiness is within ourselves and if we express it to one another, the world will be filled with joy.
Upon my arrival in Petra, I asked a fellow traveler to take my picture. I noticed he had a cockney accent, so I decided to ask him what he was doing. He was full of energy and showed me his map. I said "Let's do this" and he didn't hesitate to say yes. We were off!
Before I went to this foreign land, I realized that this would be my first Arab experience. I would need to understand the customs and ways of life. And boy was I not disappointed!
In the Wadi Rum desert, I camped out for one night and spent two days just wandering the vast beauty before me. It was truly spectacular. Soft sand beneath my feet, smoking sheesha at every interval, nighttime stars like you've never seen, and a camel ride back to base (more on all of this to come).
When you cannot understand something, it's important to contemplate it. On this trip, all I did was contemplate different things about the earth, about the universe, even about god. This place was so extraordinary, that it really shouldn't exist. But it does, therefore, I must understand its being.
No matter what you believe, you have to believe that this was the art of someone having a laugh.
The desert was literally indescribable. I sit here writing this and I've gone through the entire thesaurus, A-Z trying to find the lexicon to describe what it is that was before my eyes. But it's impossible. The pictures and the words do not do it any justice.
For me, there are three things in life that make me think deeper than anything else and I was lucky enough to experience all three on this magnificent trip:
1) Walking through vast amounts of space
2) Sunsets
3) Being around incredible nature
The taste of Jordan is mystical. The Bedouin tea takes your mind into a soft blanket of understanding and relief. The shisha then picks you up and lets you know your alive. The combination is something that has been going on for thousands of years and I was tasting the creation of something perfect. We would stop every fifteen minutes or so to enjoy this creation and I wasn't complaining. Of course, there were those who weren't into it, that's to be expected when smoke is involved. Regardless, they were understanding of our desires and were very nice in letting us enjoy the shisha while they simply enjoyed a cuppa tea (my English half came out there).
Man-made masterpieces. Earthmade mountains. Disbelief at man & earth's abilities.
Landscape, masterpiece monuments, tea, shisha, ... Jordan had it all!