O Ethnoambientu je rijec…

Mislila sam da sam u proteklih mjesec, dva sve “odtugovala” u privatnosti ovog zelenog otoka i onda krenu razgovori s drugima i privatne poruke, sve od ljudi koji su visegodisnji sudionici ili posjetitelji festivala i… shvatim da ce “ciscenje i otpustanje” potrajati jer obavijest o tome da je ovo posljednji EA tek ovih dana dolazi do ljudi… Htjela sam sve ranije obavijestiti i to “prigodnim tekstom”, ali u gotovo dva mjeseca koliko je proslo od odluke da ovo bude posljednji Ethnoambient Salona nisam uspjela napisati suvisao “prigodan” tekst, a da nije ispadao previse… Sve. Too much.

Cesto su mi neki (pri)govorili da sam previse emotivna kad je rijec o EA… da mi je Ethnoambient zamijenio dijete. Mozda. Da sam nerealna / pretjerani idealista. Mozda. Da zivim u svojem svijetu. Slazem se…

Kako god, I am not the only one i zbog toga ovo pisem za ostale idealiste, Livingstone, filozofe, vjecne studente zivota koji su previse “ovakvi” i premalo “onakvi” i rijetkima po mjeri, neumorne istrazivace, zene s previse “muske prodornosti” i muske s previse “zenske suptilnosti”, one kojima su korijeni “naopacke, u nebesima” i koji grade kule u pijesku i u zraku i propituju nauceno i sire granice i postuju i vole Zivot… a s cijim sam se osmjesima susretala na Gradini…

Dragi svi, ovaj devetnaesti ujedno je i posljednji Ethnoambient Salona i zavrsavamo priblizno kako smo i poceli – s glazbenicima iz Hrvatske koji su s nama bili i prvih godina i sa Seckouom koji je na Gradini kao doma. Kruznica…

Mojmir, Goran i ja vec neko vrijeme preispitujemo nase namjere, ideje, zelje i mogucnosti vezane za festival kao i njegovu potrebu za postojanjem u ovom obliku danas.

Mojmir je festival pokrenuo 1998.g. zeleci otvoriti platformu za razvijanje glazbe koju je volio i s kojom je zivio. S obzirom da je on ipak prvo glazbenik i izvodjac i vizionar, trebao mu je netko tko ce;

a) shvatiti i podrzati ideju – Spiro iz Doma kulture “Zvonimir” u Solinu, a zatim i Grad

b) vizije spustiti na zemlju – Goran Cvok ( raspolaganje financijama itd. itd.,)

c) ideje poslagivati u programsku cjelinu i razvijati medjunarodnu poveznicu – “pisalica” ovih redaka koja im se pridruzila 2000.g.

Festival je postao dio naseg zivota i nasa obitelj. Iako sam festival traje samo dva ili tri dana u godini, u nasim zivotima trajao je cijelu godinu.

Goran je pratio natjecaje, ispunjavao formulare, dogovarao tehniku, rjesavao kompleksne jednadzbe raspodjele sredstava – kada i koliko, a pogotovo “kako” kad nekome nesto treba rezervirati ili platiti (od avionskih karata nekoliko mjeseci unaprijed do smjestaja i hrane na dan nastupa). Mojmira smo posljednjih godina pustali na miru koliko god smo mogli, ali na njemu je bila najveca obaveza, ona koja drugima nije toliko vidljiva i opipljiva osim nekoliko dana prije festivala. U mojem programskom dijelu, prijave, prijedlozi, molbe stizale su svaki dan, cijelu godinu. Prvih godina postom, a zatim e-mailovima. I danas u mojem “inbox-u” stoji na stotine neotvorenih poruka iz jednostavnog razloga – raspolozivost vremena. Otvoriti jednu posiljku, bila ona u obliku paketica ili e-maila ne znaci samo procitati napisane recenice vec i poslusati pjesme, otvoriti se svijetu koji se nudi, osjetiti u kakvom je mogucem odnosu s namjerom festivala, srcima publike, s Gradinom… Ako koza na ruci, vratu ili ledjima reagira ide se dalje… Koja im je osnovna poruka? Cime hrane svoje stvaralastvo? Kako ce se taj band uklopiti s onim drugim/a prve ili druge veceri ili cijelog festivala? Mozda je za neku od sljedecih godina? Mozda ih mogu nekom drugom festivalu preporuciti? Ako jesu na nas ove godine, stanu li svi u nas improvizirani backstage na Gradini? Ta i mnostvo slicnih pitanja nastavljala su se i kroz daljnje, dublje upoznavanje umova i srdaca tih glazbenika, kreativaca i njihovih agenata… kroz dopisivanje, telefonske razgovore, poslagivanje datuma i financija. Ili obratno – prvo kroz susret s bendom na koncertima ili na sajmovima tipa Babel Med ili Womex. Ponekad je zatim i slijedilo kontaktiranje managera i organizatora drugih festivala u Europi da se ispita mogucnost suradnji i smanjenja putnih troskova glazbenika itd., itd. Tijekom godina obujam posla se povecavao, ( a i ideje: netko ce se prisjetiti i eko-etno sajma u samim pocecima ; )…) kao i osjecaj odgovornosti, a nase mogucnosti, vremenske i energetske nisu uvijek rasle u skladu s onim sto smo mi mislili da je potrebno za EA.

Neke smo ideje ostavljali, neke transformirali i “ono nesto” vuklo nas je dalje. Kako “to nesto” definirati, a da se ne ode u banalnost ili pretjerane emocije? Tesko. Izrazi “proslavljanje kulturne raznolikosti”, “vjera u opcu dobrobit, radost, ljubav prema zivotu, povezanost nadahnuca, svijest, tolerancija” i sl. vjerojatno zvuce kao cliche za vecinu osim za vas koji ste znali slusati tisinu i osjetiti dubine i koji ste stajali u publici dok se s pozornice sirio zvuk tisucama kilometara udaljenih rijeka i spajao se s Rikom, miris bilja s jos udaljenijih planina stapao se s majcinom dusicom i ruzmarinom podno Kozjaka i Mosora, toplina ljudi i zemlje s udaljenih prostora diljem svijeta sljubljivavala se s kamenom i zemljom na Gradini i sirila oko nas… Nazivi zemalja i kontinenata i starosti kultura spajale su se u jedno. Ljudi koji su ih donosili i prenosili bili su dragulji kojima ste davali svjetlo i toplinu da zasjaje jos jace, da se sire, preoblikuju, prenose dalje i jos vise osvjestavaju ljepotu u razlicitosti. Po onome kako je poslije vecina tih glazbenika i komentirala svoj dozivljaj Gradine i publike – tako su se i oni osjecali…

Koliko god su se situacije u nasim osobnim zivotima mijenjale tijekom godina, trudili smo se da to sama ideja i festival ne osjete.

Medjutim… U posljednje vrijeme Mojmir, Goran i ja poceli smo osjecati (u stvari, razumski dio naseg EA trojca poceo je shvacati – onom emotivnom trebalo je malo duze da prihvati cinjenice ; ) ) da, koliko god se trudili, festivalu vise nismo u stanju osigurati ono sto mislimo da zasluzuje.

Za mene je svih ovih godina EA bio centar svijeta u kakvom zelim zivjeti – u ljepoti razlicitosti, postovanju, ljubavi, toplini, stvaralastvu, povezanosti, zajednistvu s prelijepim ljudima – i s glazbenicima i s publikom i sa svim suradnicima festivala.

Zbog svega toga sam uvjerena da jedan dio onoga sto smo nazvali “Ethnoambient Salona – proslava kulturne raznolikosti” ipak ne prestaje i da ce iz toga nesto novo izrasti. Ta energija koju su svi ulagali u festival ne moze nestati, moze se samo transformirati. I rasti.

I vjerujem da je to tako … da nekad nesto sto toliko puno znaci treba pustiti da se oslobodi forme na koju smo navikli i da se dalje razvija…

Kako? Nema jednog odgovora na to pitanje. Pokazat ce ljudi (svi – na stotine i tisuce onih koji su na razlicite nacine bili dio festivala) u vremenu i prostoru u kojem svatko od nas zivi, razmislja, propituje, osjeca i djeluje…

“It’s the end of an era.” rekao je Ian A. kad smo mu javili odluku. Da, zavrsetak je, ali i pocetak.

Zato vas pozivam da ove godine na Gradini 22. i 23.7. ne tugujemo za necim sto nestaje vec da opet proslavljamo – nesto lijepo sto ce se tek stvoriti iz energije koju ste svi, zajedno s nama, stvarali i razvijali.

I jedina rijec s kojom mogu zavrsiti ovaj tekst je: Hvala.

I volim. Vas sve.

x

A.

This sentence can often be heard in our home because Down to Earth is one of our wells in the current neighbourhood.

The first thing I do in a new town is look for “the wells” of various kinds. For instance, the well that covers (some of) the needs for biodiversity can be the nearest park and the wells for fresh, organic food are often at local farmers and shops.

I love supporting small, local businesses and one of the closest of such wells opened up in front me in the Portland road on one of my exploration walks in the first month of living in Brighton. Hove, actually.

 I loved the sign: “Down To Earth”.

Soon, I found out that the inside suits the title.

“We stock products we would buy ourselves and then add some more, depending on the needs of the community,” says Matt, owner and manager of this well, patiently responding to my questions.

This intimate space is packed with goddies; variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, oils and most of the elements one might need for preparing a delicious and nutritious meal. Drinks? Make your pick. Household essentials? Many. Cosmetics? They have that, too as well as a range of supplements someone might want in certain phases of life.

Packed.

And… There may be some new items to discover next time.

I love finding out about new manufacturers and products, not just because I may find them useful in my life but also because it means yet another person out there boldly claimed her uniqueness and commitment to her own fulfilment while supporting her community to thrive – it makes my heart sing regardless whether it is about a creation of a blueberry jam, bookshelves or solar powered cars.

There are no car parts or bookshelves on offer in “Down To Earth” but there are books and jams, tea, herbs and spices and honey – from local to New Zealand’s Manuka honey, aloa vera from Mexico or Spirulina from Hawaii.

Plentifulness of choice of organic products.

“We take time to get to know every product and if it fits the ethos of the place, we are happy to include it in our offer, especially if it is something locally produced,” says Matt, always open for suggestions and ideas from his customers.

He’ll do his best to include your favourite item, as I learned myself when we moved to his neighbourhood and after months of research found no happy substitute for some beloved products from the Alnatura and Alverde line. Matt worked to find the way to include them in his shop but it turned out they didn’t have a distributor in the UK, yet.

However, he didn’t mind the effort. “I just like getting to know the world, various people, their ideas, creations and movements,” he explains while telling me how his personal interests range from sports to compiling ideas for making music and creating a radio show.

That is evident in the shop, as well. His interest in the world shows on the shelves because in such a small space one can literally get lost in the variety of offer from products to leaflets and posters about various activities and services in the community.  He will also often give you a description on who made what and how and why.

That is especially what I love in this shop because I have a small ritual when deciding which food to buy and then one when preparing it at home which involves thanking everyone and everything involved (yes, it takes a while to prepare a meal at our home…). Knowing a bit more about the producer and the area, it just makes my rituals more vivid in my mind and in my heart.

I thank them in my mind, of course. I don’t write letters, be reasonable, please.

Actually…

I do sometimes. When I find something that really stands out and I can feel the love and care put into it I’ll leave them a note on twitter or send an e-mail, or I’ll write a blog post about them…

I am grateful to Matt for “Down to Earth”, too. I want to give him and his staff a hug every time I see them, but I don’t, because I bear the cultural differences in mind. I am from a Mediterranean country. Yes, we hug each other a lot over there just for the sake of a greeting. It is our “happy you exist” sort of a greeting.

However, one may feel hugged just by entering “Down to Earth”, hugged by the energy of care for people and the environment, expressed by Matt, his staff and by all those products on the shelves that are made with love.

Thank you, Matt, for doing what you enjoy and contributing to the community in that way.

Jane Harbour. Alex Vann. Jason Sparkes. Jon Hunt.

Spiro.

Yes, back to those who create stories without saying a word.

Their concerts can help one to find out what collective trance can feel like under direction of the music that guides one towards…Balance.

On tour promoting a fabulous new album Welcome joy and welcome sorrow (Real World Records, 2015).

Describe the paths around your neighbourhood that may have inspired the step patterns in the local dance as much as the wild animals in the region have done.

I will listen to you singing and imagining the mountains and hills around your hometown as your voice spreads around and I’ll know of the valley and the trees as they shaped the colour and depth of your voice. The sounds of the words and of your instrument will imitate the sounds of the Nature around you and I don’t need to know your language to perceive it.

Your body will tell the stories of the winds it knows from many generations back, your fingers dancing will show how your ancestors picked berries or weaved a fabric.

Your story is being sung and danced; you carry the wholeness of the Nature you know in you… Thank you for sharing, thank you for connecting and enhancing the beauty of diversity in which we all grow and enrich our lives.

Expanding awareness

“A student came to a teacher of Zen and immediately got busy talking about his views on Zen. The teacher was pouring tea in the cup that was in front of the student. The student noticed how the liquid was spilling over the brim and warned the teacher.

Could it be…? Nah, it is probably my imagination running wild as I am thinking of my family of friends, places I used to call home that now seem to be millions of steps away, sliding into the childhood when the sound of a typewriter was a dear companion in creating my own comfortable worlds.

However, once all the senses got involved, the sight offered a delightful scene. It is here and now – one machine that in this space and time is most probably often presented only in museums: a typewriter!

It was sitting on one girl’s lap. This girl, woman, human being found a comfortable position on top of a huge recycle bin from where she could observe the area without being disturbed by anyone. Well, so it seemed.

I came closer, offering an apology for disturbance (sounded more like an attack):

“You certainly must be aware that it is not easy to just pass by you…”. It was the child-wanna-be-writer in me and a little more grown-up photographer talking.

She smiled and agreed to be photographed. Then came a surprise even bigger than hearing and seeing an old typewriter – on the beach and in 2012. She wasn’t writing stories. Well, not in a regular sense of writing sequences of words – her stories were actual drawings of scenery in front of her!

Could I have felt more at home? A typewriter and pictures, drawings with letters…

Click-click-clickatee-clack…

Focused.

Walk on.

Home is a state of mind, anyway ;).

To see Keira Rathbone artistic expressions click on this link:

https://www.facebook.com/KRTypewriterArt/photos_stream

If one ever doubts the necessity of nourishing cultural diversity, if one ever thinks an uniformed world would be a good idea, one may only need a visit to Womex to be reassured.

Where else today can in one place one experience music (culture in general) enthusiasts from all around the World in various roles – from volunteers to professionals, from artists to those who do anything that those artists have opportunity to share their message.

Concerts, film screenings, discussions, soul-family reunions….

From Albanian polyphonic choir whose performance brought a purifying sound shower that particular night to vivacious Polish mazurka.

 p.s. Hover over each photograph to see the name of the performer(s).

This year Womex was held in a unique city of Thessaloniki in Greece. How much the site matters was palpable at every step. The warmth of climate spreads the hearts wide open as well – those of the locals and us, the visitors. I’ve been going to Womex since 1999 and this was one, if not the one, of my favourite editions.

Not only for the choice of artists that were presented but also for everything else that made our stay more pleasant than usual. Starting from the helpful locals who answer every question with a dedication and go that extra bit to help you with whatever you need, the most polite and cordial security professionals, the delicious food in restaurants where we felt like eating at our aunt’s and not some “this is business” establishments. The list is much longer yet have to mention one more “group” that usually has challenging reputation anywhere – the taxi drivers. According to our own experience they deserve a special praise in Thessaloniki.

All in all, being in one city for the first time and feeling so “home” contributed to the overall experience of Womex 2012.

“Womex is a lung. It is a place that we gather in to breathe, to replenish ourselves to go back refreshed. It is about music, but it is about a lot more than that. It is a shared community of ideas, values and ideals…”. This statement from Lemez Lovas at the closing ceremony on Sunday, the last day of Womex, describes what Womex means to so many of us.

Here are also a few snapshots of the fair:

Photo Gallery

p.s. The song is by Kristi Stassinopoulou and Stathis Kalyviotis

Many of them are daily present on social networks and we connect via Facebook and Twitter, many don’t even use such things and e-mail is the furthest they’ll go as far as digital communication is concerned and some don’t even own a computer or a telephone. Regardless, they are present in my mind, even if we don’t exchange a word this way or another for months, they pop up at the right time when in need for an energy boost.

Whenever I get that awesome feeling of gratefulness for the richness of my life there are always several and many of them included in that feeling. Even when I contemplate some ideas or past actions that to someone would seem I had done on my own, there is a flow of memories of indirectly inspirational and even directly supportive thoughts or deeds of some of my friends, acquaintances, teachers, family members, researchers of various fields of interest or perfect strangers on the streets of this or that village, town or city. Some of them will probably never know how strongly they’ve triggered something nourishing in me, how one word or a glance produced an entire story – a non-fiction trigger for a fiction wrapped outlet.

I’ve learned more about myself through them, more about what I can or don’t want to, about what feels more or less right to my authentic self, so many valuable insights, so many playful moments, so many lives…

Even when I choose solitude for a longer period of time in order to get deeper into something I’m researching, I do not shut down the channels for synchronicity, I do not put a lead curtain on the path of telepathy – for so many times I’ve witnessed how precious those unexpected guide-lines can be.

There is a saying that the books in our home library are our biography. Yes, various reads influence our thoughts and thus our realities yet even more influential are people with whom we interact,  people we admire and (sub)consciously use as a model on various paths we walk through different periods in life. Those people may seem “ordinary” as individuals yet may have done extraordinary, inspiring, awesome things that may have changed our way of thinking, our way of forming the Reality or simply triggered a smile, a nourishing substance in that particular, extraordinary moment.

Share on Facebook ]]> https://wanderingsoflight.net/2011/09/11/friendship/ Sun, 11 Sep 2011 10:02:42 +0000 http://www.wanderingsoflight.net/blog/?p=732 I have an amazing friend who is so patient with me, tolerates my sudden pauses in the middle of a sentence or when I stop abruptly during our walks… She understands why I sometimes stand like a statue unable to take my eyes of some scene in the nature… and she waits…

Yesterday we took a walk by the sea, a few people still on the beach, catching the warm rays just before the Sun was about to embrace the hill and the scenery in front of us was amazing…The stones emerging from the sea looked like made of gold, purified by a silvery-blue water… Wonderful contrast of tints, shades and tones…Once I got my breath back I started to look for a place to stabilize my camera… Nothing flat was around on the position I wanted to place my camera and the shade was approaching the golden stones…

“Ah, look at that light and the waves…and I can’t find a flat ground to take a longer exposure…”

A few moments later, a perfect, flat piece of stone appears by my side.

“Would this help?”, she asks handing me the stone.

It did help… She did.

The scene gracefully mirrored into my camera… I got my reminder on yet another blissful moment in the nature.

This photograph will always remind me of her patience, as well, of her acceptance of the fact that when it is two of us it’s always one more, my camera, and thanks to her tolerance it never feels like there is a third wheel and I never feel I’m failing her; she waits for either mine or her paused sentences to be completed a bit later, understanding how much those wanderings of light in the nature are magical to me…

Friendships are precious, soul family that heart chooses… One of the definitions of unconditional love…

Friends intuitively feel us even when thousands of kilometres away and send text messages asking how we are in the times no one knows we’ve shut down during painful moments of growth… Friends are our family with whom we learn, share, support each other and exchange shoulders to lean on and with whom we celebrate and rejoice.

Friends expand our hearts and help us open our minds a bit more every time. They support us in learning more about our authentic selves.

We broaden paths and expand the roads for each other… We hand each other a torch when in need or… find a way to help regain the balance – and sometimes it is not about metaphors and life defining choices, sometimes it is just about a piece of the right stone at the right time…