(5) A Tornado Hits....

WHEW!

I have not expected events to change as they did. It's interesting how much power one person has - and I'm not talking about me.

The "Invisible Brother" arrived last night. We'll call him Sam for privacy purposes. Well Sam has been in Sydney for a week so I did not meet him until yesterday. Sam is one of my brother-in-laws brothers, about 30 years old, long hair and an extremely vibrant energy. Very intelligent, very philosophical and very intense.

But still with all these qualities happens to be a very amiable chap and we hit it off which I am relieved about since the younger brothers have not stopped talking about him and every other sentence its "Sam this" and "Sam that".

Let me get to the dirt. Sam comes home from Sydney and changes the entire energy in the house. Instead of this being a crackhead sharehouse it is now a more sophisticated center for an older crowd, sharper and wittier men. Yes, there are men parading in and out of the house for me to converse with, argue and debate and there is plenty of drinking and pot to go around.

I have taken a puff here and there, no hard drinking though and I find that the weed here is not to my taste. Besides, it's even fun to be sober here now. Things have changed drastically - I no longer feel alone, Sam is a total trip and even saying one sentence to him besides 'Good morning' will spur a full on philisophical debate.

I had a conversation with a cute Israeli guy last night who shared his story with me and we totally connected. He 'dug my vibe' shall we say...Ray has been in Aussie for five months studying at Uni (as University is called here) and working in random coffee houses. He experienced the same type of loneliness since arriving and also was into hard drugs in Israel before going clean.

Nevertheless, he invited me out to chill this weekend before my trip to Cairns and I will definitely be taking him up on his offer.

After haggling over moral subjectivity and the difference between animals and plants, I went to bed last night with a mindful of new perspectives to ponder and a satiated feeling of human connection.

I woke up early and Sam took me to a fabulous park with a beautiful lake.

"It's a complete 5K around (3 miles) and then we'll grab a coffee," Apparently in Australia, little Lululemon shorts and a tight, tight sleeveless Lulu top was no indication of one's sexual preference. He had no qualms about how he looked and after some stretching we began our run.

It was beautiful. I was smiling the whole time even as cramps hit and I pushed myself to run the entire way (Sam ran ahead of me but then tired before the finish line, I kept a slow pace). After the run we sat down at a little cafe for some coffee and tea and the topic of faith, Western spiritual cannibalism and Torah were discussed.

Friends, the shit that was coming out of his mouth was something unheard of to me! He has a total view of Love and Fear. Choosing to utilize his brains and energy to enjoy life, this guy could be a professor, lawyer or doctor - anything he chooses. He chooses to start a dance company that is hired out for parties and bar mitzvah's.

Craziness you would say? He does not agree or care. He just wants to chill, party and enjoy life as he sees fit.

I did suggest Yoga which we will be going to this afternoon (alas! he has a car...).

As happy as I am to meet 'soul' people as Sam calls it and to connect with people who appreciate my lifestyle choice of love and spirituality, I am still excited to get up to Cairns where it will be warmer (it's about 60 degrees here) and I will meet other travelers.

I suppose any place you go whether it may a different country, continent or simply another person's home, you need to be aware of how you are judging and what your judgement is based on.

Meeting new people and looking at their perspectives with an open mind is truly what molds you as an evolved human being. Not necessarily do you have to adopt their point of view but it never hurts to be educated.

And the journey of growth continues....!