Author: Simon Grenier

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N.5 Musicians

Ah musicians!

What would this world be without them?
Who would make people dance and expand?
Who else could offer the profoundness that you experience while you listen to music you love?

Tell me honestly, are you ever as blissful in your regular life as you would dancing like crazy at a concert?

Probably not.

And so there I was in my room, relaxing, when the sudden sounds of live music beckoned me to it. Mesmerized by its rhythms, I became a puppet. A tender hand pulled my strings towards the band.

The guitar player is very good.
He plays bass and guitar at the same time, on the same instrument.
I do the same but man does that guy rips it like no other!
It took me a solid five minutes to figure out there was no ‘’real’’ bass player in the house.

A True Master.

What a joy to be barefoot at night, nursed by live music on the open terrace of a local bar.

Is there anything more to life?
At this particular moment, no, there isn’t.

You’ll have to excuse me,
I have to exchange the pen and paper for the feet and the dance floor.

So long, friends!

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N.4 ”Taking a shit on the Beach”

There was a party here last night.
By the looks of it, many nights before too.
The table is half burnt but if it still stands, it’s good enough for me; it’s hard to write while squatting like the Indians do.

And so, while also forgetting my hat on the plane, I left my shoes in my room. IIt’s early in the morning I thought. I won’t need them, I told myself. The ground won’t be that hot this early.

I’m about to pay the price for my ignorance.
Sitting here on the last remnants of shade, the sun keeps eating away at its carcass.
I look in the distance at the scorching hot sands and I know;
I’ll have to walk that valley of death pretty soon.

The dogs out here are pretty friendly, the hippies are being hippies, mosquitoes aren’t too bad and I’m good friends with a cat.
I like this place.

As I watch a dog taking a shit further down the beach, I make a mental note of its location. And then I’m reminded of a story.

Ok. Get this.

There’s this beach with black sands all over. The sand is magnetic. If you run a magnet through it, the ground moves and you’re amazed at the simplicity of life.

As my friend tells me the story, she says that a local pointed it to her while also asking, half jokingly: ‘’don’t tell the white people’’

Have you ever been to a place that you could undoubtedly call paradise? Only to go there years later to find its spirit mangled by tourist development and gentrification?

I have.

Even though I’ve never travelled very far yet, I’ve seen it.
Now, to be fair, I’m happy the people of this place can make businesses and thrive, although I have a hunch most of the hostels belong to ‘’foreigners’’.

But in truth, I don’t know.

That’s a complicated matter for complicated minds.
I leave it to wiser people to unravel

As far as I’m concerned, I prefer to tread gently wherever I go, give thanks often, mingle with the culture and most of all, never to take a proverbial shit on the beach.

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N.3 Grand Master Fish

N.3 ”Grand Master Fish”

Wrapped in a blanket of croaking crickets, on a dimly lit table, I end my day with some writing. Akin to fishing, being there and waiting is an inseparable part of the process.

As the cockroaches pass by my feet, I throw my line ‘’out there’’ in hopes of catching something worthwhile. A nugget of wisdom to share with my human compadres or a witty one liner to make you laugh and ponder.

The athena is out
The line is in the river
Now comes the waiting part.

The idea must bite but it has to hook before I rail it in.
It’s a process of seduction you see, a back and forth of glances and energy pulls.

It’s strange how, by aging, I see the underlying principles of things. From music to writing, the medium is different but the same spirit applies.

From fishing to the seduction game
From sport to meditation

It’s as if all is the same but expresses itself in a myriad of ways.
The One into the many
The many into One

I remember a time, as a young hot blooded musician, I’d play every note I could at all times. In hopes of reaching, I did not allow it to come to me by vitue of proper approach. I’m much wiser now. I only play the right notes at the right time with the right tone and dynamic.
It’s so much easier that way.

But that takes a cup or two of humility. A one way ticket to the inevitable realization of being a speck of dust in this grand universe oughta do it!

We ain’t all that grand and important. We ain’t useless and vain either.
We’re somewhere in the middle.
And, for a brief moment, we get to embody a ‘’me’’ all of our own.

Probably no one shall remember us when we part and that’s okay,
it’s part of the cycle of Life after all.

Oh!! Look!! A fish!!
I caught one!

His eyes are wide and piercing. His skin is like a greasy rainbow.
As it babbles a few words of truth at me, I listen intently.

‘’Yo Simon! let me back into the river, I’m not meant to be hoarded and catalogued.
Life is meant to be experienced fully with freedom, gratitude and grace!!’’

Right on, fish!
Right on.

I let him back into the river and take it as a sign that it must be time for bed.
I am conversing with an imaginary fish after all.

So long, friends!

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N.2 The Feline King and the Proud Rooster

n.2 ‘’The feline king and the proud rooster’’

As the chicken pecks seeds off of the ground, the cat takes up most of the space on the tiny table on which I’m writing. Senior El Cato was here before me. Who would I be to dethrone him from his rightful seat? This is his kingdom after all.

I do no such calamity and write with half my book dangling over nothing.

Today I woke up to the faraway sounds of snarling dogs.
Woken out of a dream that ended with some Neil Young lyrics:

‘’Don’t let it bring you down, it’s only castles burning
Find someone who’s turning and you will come around’’

I dreamt about my dad. I rarely do anymore.
He’s been on the other side for such a long time,
I barely think about him.

I believe dreams can be interpreted many different ways. Its meanings are subjective and fluid. Nevertheless, like most before me, I’m on a travel trajectory to experience more of myself and to uncover a new sense of sovereignty within.

And so, I advance with curiosity.

Now, since I never truly had a dad, maybe the idea of a dad represents the grounded empowerment I’m looking for. Also, in the dream state, my father asked ME for advice.
To which I replied those Neil Young lyrics.

My own dad, or the idea of grounded sovereignty asking ME for advice makes me think that the answers are within and that I am already my own master.

I just need to listen.

Now, as I said, interpretations are fluid and mostly for fun.
Nonetheless, I decide to take it as a sign of faith tugging me gently towards a life of trust and intuition. Speaking of trust, did you ever find yourself the crossroads between the pull to act at the instant and the rational mind trying to explain away the urge?

Akin to stumbling over one’s feet, toppling over face flat on the ground, and the opportunity to act has passed?

Since I come from music and improvisation, I am very familiar with that crossroad.
These days, I’m fostering a sense of flexibility and sharpness in order to bring more responsiveness in these moments where it counts.

From music to Life
From chaos to musicality
From serious sternness to childlike play.

As I’m writing, the rooster crows proudly, chest high and tall standing.
No hesitation
No second thoughts
No shame
He is as he is and does not hide any of it.

Maybe there’s a thing or two I can learn from that rooster.
Hang on, I’ll go and bribe him into teaching me his tricks.

I’ll be right back!

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N.1 Fighting rocks and Cumbia dancing

All is well, I’ve had the most wonderful night sleeping at the airport and I got into a fight with a rock on the beach and lost. Things couldn’t be better!
I wouldn’t have asked for a different start.

In life, we get to experience sweet and sour, hot and cold, love and hate, welcoming and rejection. It’s all there in the dish, there’s one big bowl and we eat with our hands.

Sure, we can cherry pick and choose only what we like but I feel that puts us in a position of missing out on many experiences that make us learn and grow. I prefer the approach of saying YES to Life and choosing my inner state regardless of what arises around.

Sure, one can get sick if forced into toxic places. But there’s always a way out, eventually.

Speaking of getting sick, I’ve been warned not to eat anything with ice cubes in it.
That’s too bad because it’s one of the first things I did, accompanied by food from a street vendor. So far, so good! I haven’t spent the night on ye ol’ toilet.

Music seems to be everywhere I go. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being at the concert of an ensemble of 10 women, all singing and a dab of percussion to top it off.

It was grand and I got the chills. There’s nothing like women empowerment through music to give it a go at my meager skills of dancing!

I got on the right foot, twisting and turning, doing my best to learn the language, unafraid to make a fool of myself. As long as there’s heart in it, all shall be fine.

I’m off to a good start, don’t you think?