Timeless, Old, and the Now

How does the old saying go? "Nothing heals the sting of a Turkish bee and the weariness of life on the road like the waters of the Mediterranean."?

Sage words. I'm sitting in Olympos, on the Mediterranean coast. My skin has that sun-and-sea feel, and I'm content. I'm staying at a pension about 100 yards from the beach, overlooked on three sides by steep-sided and rocky mountains. My walk to the beach takes me past old European dudes in speedos. But it also takes me past something a little less off-putting.

It's a narrow dirt path, but before long, there are stones buried in the dirt. I get to a small stream, that I walk through easily-- kind like a temperature preview for the awaiting sea. Then, I look up from my wet sandals and see that I'm surrounded by ancient ruins-- the ruins of Olympos (not the really famous one -- there are apparently quite a few Olympos, kind of like Springfield). No one is exactly sure how old they are, but the civilization itself can be dated to the first century BC. I walk through the ruins all the way to the beach, and then I can see the old citadel walls right up on the mountains. I can also see the tombs of old Olypian sea captains, etched with art and inscribed with poems describing their heroism. Nothing says "day at the beach" like the sarcophagi of ancient sea captains. At least to me.

I make it to the beach, and I head straight for the water. Ahhhhhh. It's intermittently cool and warm, refreshing and comforting. The sky's blue. The clouds are white. The sun is out. The water can't decide if it's blue or green. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.....

I lay on my back and float. I see the mountains in the distance, the ruins right in front of me, and then look at my feet just bobbing in the water. Mountains, Ruins, Me.

Timeless, Old, and Loving-the-right-now.


ps. I added some pictures to some of the postings from a couple of weeks ago... haven't gotten the most recent ones downloaded to disc yet, so I'm always a little behind.