Leaving. Beautiful word. My favorite thing to do, my goal in life, my first love. If I could spend my life leaving I wouldn’t ask for anything more.
Suitcases slowly pile up in the airport van in the early morning at Mandeville, and the group around the kitchen table grows to half a dozen.
The amount of light, ease and grace that’s around J-R’s physical body (not from his body or personality) is difficult to describe. The workings of life seem frictionless. It’s as though you were to accumulate the happiness that would derive from all of life occurring perfectly, exactly as you would want it, and take that accumulated joy and cram it into the imperfect, bumpy ride that is day-to-day living in the physical world. Nothing outwardly has changed but everything has changed.
Difficult to describe. Here’s another way: I’m a pretty sensitive guy and I can feel the depression and fear when people express in a contracted, materialistic way—especially when they create something, like art, or a TV show, or TV news. When I’m at home I turn it off. But in the van going to the airport there’s some awful TV news show on the screen and all I can see is the beauty of people working out their little dramas, and the great courage and nobility of souls coming to this planet to overcome it and get a taste of the divine. What was disgusting and mildly painful becomes as wondrous and awe-inspiring as the stars and the trees and the mountains.
The people around J-R have a devotion to the great pursuit of happiness. In the kitchen at Mandeville getting ready to leave, John Morton and Leigh radiate, Jsu clowns around, Laurie giggles, Delile (J-R’s brother) quietly attends to his big bowl of oatmeal, every once in a while looking up with a mischievous smile…a musical comedy of odd personalities thoroughly enjoying each other’s oddness and their own, and taking joy in leaving.
We get to the airport greeted by some more of the crew. Watching Jsu organize, direct, herd our little group, schmooze the ticket agents, simultaneously prodding and soothing, is fun to watch. (We should sell instructional videos on how to win people over in daily life, with Jsu at a ticket counter going through all his moves, and then emerging from the scene to explain to the camera how he did that, the mechanics of the interaction, with each person’s motivation and how to respond. Then we should get him to watch his own videos so he can do it more often.)
He disarms people. We all disarm people. As we line up at the ticket counter Julie sees a security guard dressed in black with a flak jacket and a big machine gun, and says, “Boy you’re really packing,” and he says, “and you should see my gun too,” and everyone cracks up. He takes a bow for the joke. Lightening the world one person at a time.
It’s the first day of the trip. Everyone is fresh, looking forward, and happy to be leaving. We’ll see if it lasts. We get ourselves and all the equipment to the gate and take off.
After landing in Israel we meet Benji, our tour guide on so many trips here with J-R in the ’80s and ’90s. After we check into the hotel we take a walk through the old section of Jerusalem.
The preparations are starting, and everyone’s getting their bearings. (We haven’t been here for 5 years.) There’s still time, so I’d say get over here if you can. And most people can, they just won’t, for whatever reason. The energy is already incredible. J-R has put his body on the line to be here, for all of us. He’s holding open a door in a hurricane. It’s heroic. These trips, for me, are opportunities to release lifetimes karma and make gains inwardly that seem impossible in daily life. I’ve never lost anything from participating in any part of my life. It’s when I hold out that I lose. There’s always only one chance, multiplied many times over. And, even though there have been a lot of them, sometimes that one chance is the last one, but you never know it until the game is done.
Leaving.
VIEW THE PHOTOS
TO WATCH THE LIGHT TOUR SOUL CAM VIDEOS
CLICK HERE
If you’d like to follow the Light Tour SoulCam videos from Israel, join the Opt-In Email by clicking here.
You will receive an email each time we upload a new video from the trip.
How lovely! Thank you JR, for being there for all of us. Light & blessings to all.
Holy Sh–. David speaks the truth
Thank you to all who made this post possible-I feel so included!
David your inspiring as a writer whilst being a brilliant photographer. Love and light to you all.
Loving and light to all of you on this wonderful trip 🙂 Blessings of loving from my heart to yours 🙂
David the picture of J-R there in body as well as spirit moved me to tears, your words touch my heart, why am I not there? I am pulled to join you – so I will be online and in deep gratitude
David, you are an excellent writer! The way you approached this article pulled me in sideways and kept me enthralled the entire time. I am sending you a pat on the back and awarding you a “golden-cross pen”!!! That is all I have to leave you with at this time!
Thank you!
The open door and the hurricane are happening here too on the inner. Very palpable. I feel like eons of karma are intensifying and then dissolving like a bubble bath after the water cools down.
Wow! David Sand! For so many years I have feasted on your photographs of our family outings – always filled with gratitude for your visual voice, but so seldom hearing you speak a word. Now, come to find out how powerfully the spoken word flows from you as well. Thank you so much for sharing your gifts with us. Now, I look forward to your words as well as your pictures of life with the Travelers. May you be blessed in all ways, always.
Ah, David,but when is the game done?
Light ahead.
David You’re a STAR !!! Catch up soon…..
David, this is truly a magnificent piece ~ seeing it thru your eyes (as with your awesome pics, as always) brings a whole new dimension. What a great gift you have – including sharing yourself so freely. I truly don’t recall when I last read something that was so deeply moving and profoundly simple. Bless You, Thank You ~ Love You!!!!
Thank you David!!! The hurricane reaches us even on the other side of the continents and oceans!! Wonderful description of my last three days – Light and stormy winds!!! Sending Light to all and basking in it too…