Rome and why I am here....

I believe that we are all like nerve endings or sensory pods/synapses of some sort that are here so that the Creator can experience the life/existence that S/He has created. We are interconnected on some level that isn't obvious, but that is occasionally known to us.

That is a simplistic view of my experience with "the leap" wherein there are coincidences of great magnitude that make me aware that all is good and meant to be.

For example, today in Rome, I ran into the two Korean girls who shared my train cabin coming from Nice two days ago. They were on the subway among the millions of people that are in this city using mass transit and moving about. That connection is peculiar yet not, unusual but not....very typical but not....and these ladies play a role in my life, but don't. I can't explain it any better than that. However, it happens to me very frequently.

Today, I visited the Vatican and found myself quite unmoved by being there. First, it started to rain just as I arrived and secondly, I looked around at the statuary and riches of the Church and compared that to the poverty and need that I have seen in the people I have met like Mario in Portugal and the lady today who was crawling on her nubs with photos of the Virgin Mary, begging for money. I saw a steady stream of pilgrims with ailments of all sorts, who came here hoping to leave behind their wheelchairs, but who were being wheeled back out into reality. It really struck me that it is easy enough for the administration of any church to ignore the world outside when their people are in desperate need. Their preservation takes the place of their need to do good, and they only help those who help them and who serve their need to survive. The church becomes one more bureaucracy that we all have to navigate.

A good example of the disconnect between the church and the world is the ban on reproductive prevention by the church. First, we are in a population explosion where the human race is like a virus on the Earth. Secondly, banning contraception creates more good church-goers and ensures the preservation of the church. Where the policy becomes sinister, though, is when condoms are banned by the Pope and condoms are the best means to prevent the spread of AIDS in heterosexual couples. I say unequivocably that the Pope is being irresponsible at best by ignoring the spread of AIDS and not speaking to endorse the use of condoms.

Anyway, after the Vatican, I walked to the Spanish steps and to the Trevi Fountain. I had hoped to be overwhelmed with the event, but there were so many tourists in the spaces that I felt I had seen a couple of throngs rather than any kind of landmark. After a while, I decided to head back to my hotel, where I was due to meet a man for an interview for my film.

As it turned out, we had an interview, but he would not go on film. He is a foot fetishist and wanted to talk specifically about black gold-toe over-the-calf socks and how they turn him on, especially when worn by white-collar workers who will allow him to play with their feet. I guess it takes all kinds of experiences in this world for us to provide the Creator with the myriad of sensations that are needed to understand creation.

After this most interesting meeting, I needed a nap, and went back to my hotel to sleep for a long afternoon of rest. I woke up in the heat of the early evening to the sounds of a screaming child and of motorbikes down in the street below. Nothing new....just another series of loud noises that I now am usually able to sleep through. It is the heat that is getting me down these days. I am trying to remain hydrated and well-rested, but the travel days are coming around more and more frequently. I leave for Naples in the morning.

Categories: travel Rome Italy The+Vatican condoms HIV/AIDS overpopulation foot-fetishist photography synchronicity