This year has been a monumental year, with some huge shifts both internally and externally. On a personal and global level, A LOT has been happening, to say the least, and we´re only half way through the year.
It hasn´t felt right to write another blog post for some time, with the ongoing atrocities unfolding across the world. However, I´ve recently finished reading a book that landed in my life just at the right time, and it´s inspired me to write.
Those of you that know me, will know I decided to go alcohol-free at the start of the year. While last year was predominantly alcohol-free too, I wanted to commit to a full 12 months and see what magic unfolds. I´m very nearly at 6 months and while the season may be in full swing here in Ibiza, I´m still feeling so confident in my decision to have a break from the booze and I´m enjoying every bit of magic that comes my way on this path of sober curiousness.
Since redefining my relationship with alcohol, I´ve also been redefining my relationship with reading. Instead of losing my weekends to hangovers, I´m now a proud member of the Sober Book Club. A Sober Book Club in Ibiza, surely not? It´s actually one of the most exclusive and luxurious clubs on the island, yet I was surprised at how easy it was to get into it. You don´t even need a workers pass. All you need to do is tap out of boozing and tap in to the luxury that is to read.
There´s many lines that stand out from Matt Haig´s latest novel, The Life Impossible, but I particularly love this one:
"All reading is telepathy and all reading is time travel. It connects us to everyone and everywhere and every time and every imagined dream."
How lucky are we? To be able to walk into a library, a bookshop, or scroll through an e-reader store and choose from a seemingly infinite variety of books. While on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, Palestinian libraries, archives, bookshops and museums have been destroyed. Obliterated. Along with the innocent lives lost, whole collections of books have also gone up in smoke. Those books that have been annhilated as part of the ongoing genocide have been a way for Isreal to wipe out Palestininan culture and heritage, and therefore the connection of Palestininians to their own culture and history, as well as the world´s connection to the land and it´s stories. Heartbreakingly, this has been a war tactic implemented by Isreal ever since the Nakba in 1948. There is so much to be said about what is going on in the Middle East, but I can´t find the right words.
May this world be a place of peace and freedom for all for we are all connected and intertwined.
...
Over on Goodreads, there are some pretty mixed reviews. Yes, there is an element of magical realism, which may be a bit much for some, but if you´ve ever spent some time in Ibiza, magical realism can feel like the norm.
Reading The Life Impossible was the most delightful escape, and upon finishing the book I felt a deeper sense of connection with the island and the people of Ibiza. It breathed some new life into my own relationship with this island I call home. Through the book we see how coming to Ibiza changed Grace Winters´ life, and I can safely say it´s also had the most profound impact on mine. On page 312, how I feel is beautifully summed up:
"We can create a bigger infinity out of life. By feeling. And every day I feel. I feel deeply and intensely and what I feel is gratitude. To Ibiza, to Spain, to the world, to people, to nature, to the hidden forces of the universe, and it makes me want to carry on helping protect and cherish every natural thing. "
One of the main messages from the book is the need to protect the island from slimy characters like Art Butler, who treat this land as a development contest. These developers, they don´t see the nature. They don´t see the history. They don´t see the Ibicencos. They don´t see the native species of birds and lizards and ginetas and their precious habitats. They don´t see the beautifully ordinary life that happens here, despite all the intensity and chaos of summer. They see profit margins. They see paradise, but not in terms of preserving it, they exploit it.
One corner of the island that´s at risk of exploitation is the serene Cala Llenya. If you haven´t already, sign the petition here to stop yet another beach club invading the sands:
& for all the people that will inevitably give this post an eyeroll and scoff ´Sober and reading in Ibiza, BORING´ - I´ve explored and experienced and created more memories on this island since saying adiós to alcohol than I ever would have if I didn´t change up my lifestyle. No word of judgement to anyone who drinks, but if you can´t remember the last time you finished a really good book, go and get yourself a copy of The Life Impossible.
¡menos resaca, más vida!
Add comment
Comments