The wet, salty breeze of the Eastern Mediterranean gusted my hair into bohemian nests. As if the naturist body sublet its beauty in the imperfect form to my nonchalant joy. I was flowing in the moment. When creativity showers upon you, do not question anything. It just comes, you feel it, and become one with whatever befalls upon you.

zen mind

 

That morning in Tel Aviv, teasing me out of the freshly dressed bed at The Norman hotel’s suite, only the dark voices of crows tinted musically the crystal-lit sky. Such a perfect lazy Sunday with a touch of mystery that I am very much attracted to. Teasing me out, the beauty called me on the deck. Inhaling, voracious for the local sea air, my expanding lungs relished the simplicity. I had to write.

Still, this was only the beginning of my poetical affair with the White City that enchanted me so profoundly. After I strolled through the ancient Jaffa port, engaged by its eloquent street art, I sat in a spontaneous break by the sea. The expansive sand stretched North towards the new town’s marina, and a sunset was unfolding — boundless and emotionally charged — right in front of me.

I sighed and penned whatever arrived to my mind down; certainly it was connected to Tel Aviv of then and now:

RESTLESS

The breeze of distant adventures

thrusts soil into my mind

weighing the vast experiences of explorers,

and their ancient stories wrought

 

Fissures in my heart,

plasters over my soul —

— I cannot cease to seek

hope, more for, more

 

Fierce winds chissel wounds

in my rarely resting soul —

— I crave, thinking more

hope, more for what could be

 

If now did not exist,

where and who I would be?

Dreaming, feeling, too deep, 

observing the fishermen,

patient — oh, they know how to simply be!

Tel Aviv, The White City that enchanted so many, indeed feels like a place where the ghosts of the millennia past mingle with the liberal coastal beauty, hand in hand, somewhat naturally. One of the best urban scapes to enjoy street art, modern architecture, beach volleyball, surf or to launch a start up, just an e-scooter ride from an office to the beach. Like in Rio, the spirit is free, the beach a social scene, eating out casual yet festive, but the lifestyle here is much more safe, guarded by the imminent threat from Israel’s enemies, most its neighbors. A tough geopolitical situation in the promissed land of the Bible. The major three religions congregate on its soil despite their disagreements. Still, the bombs blast from time to time, rockets are fired wickedly, so security must remain stark. Living in that, the locals need to entertain themselves either with intellectual or creative pursuits in order to remain sane and happy. The Tel Aviv street art scene is vibrant.