Just came back from my holiday to Basque country, where I spent almost three weeks. I decided to take a break from politics (as far as possible in Basque country lol). To make this easier, my phone randomly decided to die a few days in, so I lost all connection to the world.
I wanted to use the holiday to find myself again. I was dealing with anxiety for the past two-three months, overly worrying about money and the future even though it may not have been needed to do so.
I did some hikes on the rocky beaches and through the mountains for a few days. I spent days on the beach relaxing and swimming. My gf gave me a book that, according to her, was meant to take me away from politics. She gave me ‘Fall of Giants’ by Ken Follett. For those who have not read it, it’s a book about the labour struggle in England, the (build up to) the first world war, fall of aristocracy and the Russian Revolution. It even features Lenin lmao. It’s mostly fiction, so she probably thought it would be nice for me to read fiction. I am enjoying the 1000 page book so far, so she was right.
While looking for balance in life, I had my great breakthrough on a rock. I was swimming at the beach when I suddenly felt the urge to swim past the cliff seperating the bay from the sea. There was nothing but cliffs behind it and I decided to go back when I suddenly saw a small rock protruding from the sea. I swam to it and climbed it, facing my back to the land. I saw nothing but ocean in front of me and I sat there for over an hour, staring into the distance. I saw water, incredible clouds, a far away thunderstorm and a boat in the distance, slowly passing by. I sat there thinking how this view will be the same in a hundred years and that I’ll be long gone by then. And so will be the people back at the beach, together with all our worries. It made me realize again how little time I have in this place and how much time I spent worrying about unimportant things. When the hour was gone, I felt like a weight was gone from inside my head and my shoulders, and I swam back to the beach.
I enjoyed my stay in Basque country. I tasted the local cuisine, spent some time at the beaches, the bars and in between the Basque people. I enjoyed the countless political flags and (communist) statements made everywhere. I enjoyed the easy and laid back way of living and I feel refreshed. I’m ready to continue the communist fight over here now, and I have a lot of things coming up.
And, importantly, I will start my new job at the Union next monday.
How is life going? Have I missed important things while I was gone?
Nice to see you. When you went quiet I thought you’d left your phone at home and thought, good choice! Pity that your phone died, but it sounds like you got a lot out of the trip without the distraction.
Sounds like an idyllic adventure! You like to hike and cycle at home, right? Is there a way you could find somewhere peaceful with a good view to visit more often? Might be good to remind yourself of your revelation(s)? I hope your anxiety stays low/doesn’t come back.
I’m a fan of Ken Follett. I’ve not read everything, or the book that you read. I enjoyed The Evening and the Morning and The Pillars of the Earth (not these past three weeks – that would be a feat!). What’s next for you, literature-wise? Non-fiction or fiction? Have you caught the historical fiction bug? There seem to be quite a few Basque-related books around: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/basque and https://euskalkazeta.com/top-books-on-the-basques/ (uh oh, I’m getting wanderlust now).
Life is going well. I’ve started to fix my diet. It wasn’t bad before, except the odd takeaway pizza. No meat, little fried food. But it wasn’t very varied. I’ve started to batch cook ‘soup’ and rice. Then I can have a bowl with the rice mixed in for lunch. And if I have more time in the evening, I’ll use it as a base to make a sauce. Adding some garlic, peppers, onions, lentils, and curry powder for a quick curry, for example. So I’m getting a minimum of 4–8 vegetables in my system every day. I always find it surprising how quickly proper food uplifts your mood and energy.
Yeah unfortunately some oily hummus leaked in my bag and found its way into my charging port. It seems fixed now.
Antwerp is a very heavily urbanized area so views may not be that close. But I can probably find some quiet places nearby. Thanks for the tip, hadn’t thought about it.
Since Fall of Giants is the first in a trilogy, I might start reading the other two soon. They’re both 1000 page pieces of thickness though, so I might need some break in between lol. I’ll keep reading theory but I’ll also read more fiction as I find it helps me stay more leveled. Reading books about Basque country may be nice, considering my gf and I are tempted by the idea of (eventually) moving there.
Good on you for finding an improvement in your diet. We all know it, but having a healthy, balanced and varied diet is crucial. As they say, your gut is your second brain, and we don’t want to stuff our brain with toxic stuff all the time either.
gotta watch out for that hummus