Such a Tiny World

 My little world is so very much larger than the world of most humans.  It is so protected and so peaceful and full of abundance in all things.  It is a mostly free little world without many rules and restrictions.  My mind is allowed to explore across vast spheres of ideas and political movements and historic events.  I have such unbelievable freedoms that even I forget to honor the opportunities sometimes.

Yet as the final cloak of evening dark settles into the corners of my modern and luxurious house I hear hints of vulnerability.  Sounds like the snort of a pig, the humph of a fat old man, the stingy sniff of a wealthy crone, the flaunted twerk of someone who sells her soul for fame and fortune.  These cautions and quiet reminders are not so much for me but for those who follow and are too busy to listen.  Dangers for those who do not reach out to learn.  The call for bigger, more, faster, brighter, and then the brake for paramnesia to settle the soul during fitful inconvenient sleep is most dangerous.

In my world the leaders are quick to point the fingers at other world leaders and blame them for lying, immorality and unethical behavior, while they pretend that there is no history that reveals most of our leaders have feet of clay.  We have used nuclear weapons against innocents.  We have used chemical weapons against innocents.  But since we 'learned' from these lessons we now can order everyone else about and hold them to a higher standard.  Still, we are not smart enough to put down the sledge when a scalpel might suffice.

I am going to expand my little world this coming week and take a trip to a country that has a "New" constitution as of 2012.  This country has been invaded and pummeled many times and has an immensely complicated history.  After WWI this country lost more than 71% of its territory, 58% of its population, and 32% of its people in a restructure.  While it is now a free Republic, there are still many undercurrents of struggle and poverty  There are 8 political parties which sounds overwhelming but means many voices can be heard.  They are the inventors of geometry, electronic motors, transformers, use of Vitamin C, plasma TV, holographs and the Rubic Cube.  This country is the home of Franz Liszt and Bela Bartok among other artists and the Pulitzer prize.  Its culture and geography are so lovely that it currently attracts 10.2 million tourists a year.   The people of this country know far more about my country than I do about them.  You have guessed by now that I am writing about Hungary.

My visit will be typical of those little world tours we take.  I will be living on a long ship going up the Danube and visiting various cities in Germany, Hungary and Austria via canned tour.  I will try to break away for spontaneous adventure, but do not expect an honest meeting of Hungarian minds as the time is so short and so tightly programmed and I do not want to miss anything.  But, perhaps this taste will get me to return for something more intimate someday.  I know nothing about this region other than what I have read.

For those who cannot travel for oh so many reasons, I will bore you with photos and anecdotes when I return that you can skip until I run out of material and get back in a regular drain, chain, lane of thought.