Disorientation

Even when change is elective, it will disorient you. You may go through anxiety. You will miss aspects of your former life. It doesn't matter. The trick is to know in advance of making any big change that you're going to be thrown off your feet by it. So you prepare for this inevitable disorientation and steady yourself to get through it. Then you take the challenge, make the change, and achieve your dream.

Harvey Mackay

Over the past two to three days, the Time Traveller, Cat and I have passed through time, space, and climates. We witnessed a glimpse of a sunset in Toronto, a beautiful soft-toned sunrise over Germany, and a fiery red sunset over the Mediterranean – all during one very long day.


Our trek began with afternoon snow at Toronto. We landed, the next morning, in thick fog at Frankfurt. Later we touched down in surreal conditions in Luxor as whitewashed cement walls were reflected in the rain-drenched streets making it look like a land covered with snow. After 30 hours without sleep, there was a brief moment of space/time disorientation. Where am I?


We are definitely in Luxor and things do look similar, although not. Change continuously realigns reality. For example, today we visited our favourite café, which is not there anymore but has been replaced by a similar concept, which looks quite nice. We could not sample the food due to an all-to-familiar power outage, so we moved on to visit our favourite café in its new location. Elements of the old place have been incorporated into a more airy and modern setting. The food remains good quality and our friendly waiter-friends are there, so we’ll be back. The change may be beneficial -- now we may have two favourite cafes to visit.


Last night, Luxor’s mountains welcomed us back spectacularly, if somewhat ‘loudly’. Since my departure, many more lights have been added, brightly illuminating both the mountain and the doorways of the nobles’ tombs.


Thankfully, we awoke to the quiet, misty palms and sugar cane fields. Mother Nature steadies me. We made it! And a new chapter of life in Luxor begins. I’m not yet sure where the plot will take us so stay tuned.