My first post

As this is my first post, I welcome myself to the world of blogging. And, for anyone who cares to read it, welcome to my blog. I've been tortured by an onslaught of ideas I wanted to write about recently but could not get an internet connection to be able to start this up. I still don't have a regular connection but hope to in the near future so postings may be thin until then. As you can gather from my title, I want to talk about the things that I love. I've made a life of travelling to new places if only to the detriment of my bank balance (thus the lack of an ISPcontract) and neglect of other issues in my life. I live in a vaguely middle-class world without the middle-class material things to show for it; no TV, central heating, mortgage, car, massive sound system, pair of golden retrievers in the back of a suburban vehicle. It's not that I think I'm too cool to have these things or have an aversion to any of them moralistically; it's just that I have prioritised other things over this kind of life. Mainly this is travel, buying good ingredients for cooking, investing in tramping gear (which is bloody expensive even if it is good quality stuff), moving to other countries to work, and sitting in cafes reflecting in my journal or now, on my computer. I think there are lots of people like me who aren't really living life like their friends imagine they are, but haven't really suffered much and, as a result of a bit of hard yakka to go against the grain, have had pretty interesting lives so far. So that's why I'm starting this blog. I feel like I've learnt a lot from my 35 years so far and, hopefully, will learn a lot more. The biggest thing is that a moment spent playing with a street kid in Calcutta with a bottle cap as a toy can be as enjoyable as gaining recognition at work, or relating to a character in your favourite film. Everyone I've met in the world is just trying to make a good life for themselves and their loved ones. We are all looking for contentment and freedom from worry. I think that's reflected in our daily activities...the things we fill our time with. We can't change everything we don't like in this world but, maybe we can find peace through normal things. There you have it, my plan for this space. To share ideas and interests is a stronger way to build bonds of peaceful living than any other I can think of. Om shanti