decluttering the soul

by Ikram El Ouardi (Netherlands)

I didn't expect to find Sri Lanka

We both became 30 that year. What started off as an intention to have a girl trip to celebrate, first seemed to slip away in the speed of daily life. Considering that we don't have a lot of sunny days, in Amsterdam, our hometown,back then, we decided to have ice screams to grasp some sunlight, sitting on the waterside of westerpark (mustexperience in amsterdam). Between dreaming away and scrolling numb on my phone, a travel offer catched my attention. All of a sudden i was present in the moment and my mind couldn't let go of it. Remember the girl trip we intended to go on? We laughed about it. What happened to the time that we made quick decisions without overthinking them? My friend replied, i miss those days. Well, we can change it. If you agree, i'll book us a trip to Sri Lanka right away. What, that's crazy! Is it? We laughed about the idea of the impulse. But got used to the idea with an instance and decided to celebrate our third decade on this planet there and then. Once we arrived in Sri lanka. It was my first hiking experience. We thought of everything an unexperienced beginner could think of. Curiously guessing about the intensity of the hike, dedicated to check it of our bucketlist. We were dropped off nearby Sigiriya, known as the eight wonder of the world. As we approached and the flock of people collectively worrying about the next gram worthy picture, my heart whispered that this was going to be special. As we walked the stairways,i noticed becoming myself becoming more silence. Turning into myself. Surprisingly focussing as much on the innerprocess as on the physical proces. Connecting and deconnecting with the Sigiriya at the same time. Further up the Lion's rock, we passed a lot of people, in all their diversity. Connected by feeling human and humble at the sight of the greatness of the Rock. Almost completely disassociated from the physical, i noticed an elderly couple and a young girl. I smiled and walked on to soon realise intuitively that i had to go back and check up on them. My friend looked at me doubtful, knowing that i'm stubborn by heart. I asked whether they are okay. The lady responded with panick in her voice: she has diabete's and her sugar dropped. Right away the dextro and tictac i packed came to my mind. I took them out of my backpack and reached them to the couple, to help the girl out. They thanked me and i walked on. As i reached the top, the view astonished me. I high fived my friend and looked for a spot to be by myself. Looking arround me, a lot of things unsolicited clicked into place. My eyes started tearing up. My friend tried to approach me for something, glancing at my eyes, she waved the importance for her speaking away. I stood there in solitude. And a lot all of a sudden made sence, the loss, the pain, the loneliness along the way. I checked my phone,to realise, that there was literally no connection. So i decided to record a message for my siblings, to remind them of the victories we gained regardless. Proud and honoured to have them. A lot of emotional luggage that had been weighing me down, left my soul that day. I looked at my friend to realise,that she too was leaving some unwished heaviness behind. We smiled like little girls in a icecreamshop. And decided that we were ready to return. As we reached the bottom of the Sigiriya, i heard an enthusiastic talkative girl. Passing by i noticed it was the girl that was accompanied by the elder couple before. My heart wished her well and i asked myself, what if we all just, didn't perceive our limiting beliefs for just once. Secretly knowing that i had the answer ,thanks to that girl, within me for the rest of my life.