Why would you ever leave paradise?
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I mean voluntarily, not just with your head bowed in shame because you ate its forbidden fruit. I left because my ticket said it was time to leave, which is a ridiculous reason; it's a schlep and a half to get to the place, getting back is even worse (cause you're traveling in the wrong direction), so you best stay long as you can. But my bank account also went from silently weeping in the corner to screaming its head off, so i'd come to the end of the road anyway.

Now that i'm back to what i guess is reality and normality (with my kind of brain, both concepts are forever in question and rarely within reach), i can tell you a couple of things about paradise. It's an odd place to get into:
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but once in there is that sense of infinite beauty

with the kind of views and blues usually reserved for, well, movies about paradise
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and some beautiful people
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who are there to cherish the blue and the sun
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but even the clouds are pretty
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and even the rain is sunny
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and fantastically fat
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the insects are HUGE
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the birds tiny
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the fish quite sociable

as are the lizards -though they prefer to be outside
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whereas the porcupine fish likes to be inside
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and the frogs like monofins

the corals are smart and angelic

and can come in the shape of a rubber ducky
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of course, this is modern day paradise, so there's quite a lot of plastic shit about
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which has its own sad visual poetry

but other than that, it is remarkably pristine and crowd-free
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and it seems paradise takes over civilization more than the other way round
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so i'm happy to report that the tree of wisdom is safe and sound
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and that i obviously have yet to partake from its fruit
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but during the journey back into civilization i had a thought
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you don't really know about love until you've had your heart broken, or about life until someone you love dies. In paradise, happiness is a state rather than a moment. I hope the memory of that state adds value to future moments.
And i hope to be back in paradise as soon as bank accountably possible.

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I mean voluntarily, not just with your head bowed in shame because you ate its forbidden fruit. I left because my ticket said it was time to leave, which is a ridiculous reason; it's a schlep and a half to get to the place, getting back is even worse (cause you're traveling in the wrong direction), so you best stay long as you can. But my bank account also went from silently weeping in the corner to screaming its head off, so i'd come to the end of the road anyway.

Now that i'm back to what i guess is reality and normality (with my kind of brain, both concepts are forever in question and rarely within reach), i can tell you a couple of things about paradise. It's an odd place to get into:

but once in there is that sense of infinite beauty

with the kind of views and blues usually reserved for, well, movies about paradise

and some beautiful people


who are there to cherish the blue and the sun

but even the clouds are pretty
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and even the rain is sunny
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and fantastically fat

the insects are HUGE

the birds tiny
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the fish quite sociable

as are the lizards -though they prefer to be outside

whereas the porcupine fish likes to be inside
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and the frogs like monofins

the corals are smart and angelic

and can come in the shape of a rubber ducky

of course, this is modern day paradise, so there's quite a lot of plastic shit about

which has its own sad visual poetry

but other than that, it is remarkably pristine and crowd-free

and it seems paradise takes over civilization more than the other way round

so i'm happy to report that the tree of wisdom is safe and sound

and that i obviously have yet to partake from its fruit

but during the journey back into civilization i had a thought

you don't really know about love until you've had your heart broken, or about life until someone you love dies. In paradise, happiness is a state rather than a moment. I hope the memory of that state adds value to future moments.
And i hope to be back in paradise as soon as bank accountably possible.

2 comments:
you really are so brilliant and quite deep in your lighthearted account of things daan; never fails to amaze me. quite the commendable report on paradise that. funny how we 'see' the far away places we visit. i'm still waiting for bank account possibilities of getting back to the side of the pond you so sadly returned to. oh blessed irony. anyhoo bravo dear chap. you guys did it right!
great post Daan
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