hey kids- I've been running into a lot of expats lately, many of whom are actually planning to live here in amsterdam, and aren't just in town for a good smoke.... interesting to me is that this has drastically increased since the re-election of our Dear, Mister Bush back into the good ol whitehouse... I am pretty sure I have seen some of you roaming the streets purusing some of the coffeeshops that I've mentioned here, and i think it's fucking awesome... and I hope that amsterdam has the power to transform you from pot-smoking tourists to change-seeking liberals (or at least, less conservative... some ideas work and some don't, I guess ;-).... there is still so much horrible shit happening on this planet, and I hope that an international dialogue (amsterdam being a historic place of trade, now the center for exchanging ideas) can begin and all of you creative folk out there (musicians, artists, mimes, etc,) get out your lutes and your microphones and start singing to the world, to whoever wants to hear, the truth as you know it.... the truth as you see it and have experienced it.... being in this country during the murder of theo van gogh and the backlash after has been something of a soboring experience for a lot of people-including myself.... I understand enough dutch to have followed along with the cabinets nationally-televised manifesto-composition (can you imagine something like that in the states? talking to you president via satellite and microfone, and getting non-scripted resonses)... How can we make Holland safer? How can we reach out to children, as well as parents in these trouble-prone areas? Has culture shock really been so intense for many of these people that their tolerance level is so low? I mean, these are questions that didn't start appearing on american tv until after i left the states... but has been an ongoing (and recently more heated,) dialogue between two parties that want to see no more dead, wounded or threatened-but can't quite agree on a middle-ground to make it possible.... but it isn't really up to them, is it? it's OUR responsibility, locally and globally to become more conscious of our actions and their affect on others... and that if we have the power, will and capability for good, then it is our mandate to do so-especially in times as hectic as now... isn't it scary to have no fucking clue where we'll all be 5 years from now? 9-11 is only 3 years ago, folks.... and shit like that happens every day around the world (much of it our government's doing... both Dutch and American).... Is change possible? yes... and at the grass roots level it may take awhile, but i know there are people motivated enough to see things different... and not just your run of the mill revolution, but a species-wide consciousness shift.... converting from consumers of the planet to stewards... of not only the land and resources, but of people... when a human life is no longer expendable in the race for fortune, we will truely know peace... not perfection, not Utopia, but peace in some small form... Come to Amsterdam, travel the world and make your presence known.... leave your mark.... and pass the message along, that the only way we can be strong (and actually survive) is through trust, compassion and consideration for each other, no matter how difficult that may be at times... After that, *AHEM*, if you are around the city, and you see me, say "Hi"... I have red wavy-ish hair just past my shoulders, silver hoop earings and a pierced right nostril.... I'd like to meet some of the folks with wanderlust in their blood ;-) :::::Blessings::::: Sweet Sangria
