Arrived in Beirut / Peacewalk here soon

Thomas writes:

I arrived in Beirut yesterday in the afternoon. George, Sakker and Micha, which I met in a Gallery, help me so far to find accomodation here. The map is also up to date 🙂
There will be a PEACEWALK soon here in Beirut, where everyone who wants to come, can join in.
We are walking in silence mindfully through the city.
Will be on Tuesday and/or Wednesday 22./23.10.
Time and meeting point will be announced later.

I wanted to report earlier, but there was no Internet. So now!!!!
It is Saturday evening!!!!
I sit in front of the computer and feel me touching the keybord, breathing in and out, being in the here and now.

Half of Libanon is walked by and with steppps in the manner of mindfulness. 🙂 For peace

Soon after Bcharre I met my next hosts, who let me learn about the Libanon Mountain Trail LMT http://www.lebanontrail.org/ and I can tell you: If you want to hike in Libanon, this is really really a beautiful way to do. So I went for 2 days on this trail, enjoying the nature even more than before.
The project is sponsored by USAID, who help the mountain region to develop tourism. Even when here and there, there are some marking problems, I found people, who were already on the way,to improve the trail markers.

All my hosts are again amazing. Two of them, Mark and Mario, helped me sooo much, that we finally ended up in the darkness in the middle of the mountains. Mark had 1/2 a bottle of Wisky before, so I hoped, that I had not to rescue him.
Here and there I got sponsored for a Hotel, so also at the monastery of St. Chapel www.saintcharbel.com , where a monk offered me to sleep in front of the building. Because of the altitude of 1.500 meters and the temperature in the night I just asked some other people around, if they could help me to find a sleeping place somewhere inside. Finally a group of pilgrims booked a hotel room for me.
And two days ago I could not find a place to stay. In the end I slept in the very poor home, a shack, of two very friendly syrian workers, who I guess, have so little money, that they even can’t effort some toothpaste – but this I realised half an hour after I left the place. But anyway, the conditions where really bad, also the smell of the place. Moza also had a cold and we had at least 30 mosquitoes each as sleeping guests. I went the next morning to buy some washing tools for cleaning the place, some medicine for Moza and it was very welcoming.
At another place, a Don Bosco Institute http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bosco I met  to young syrians, Hani and Elias, who escaped from Syria, because otherwise they would be recruit into the syrian armee. They will try to come somehow to Europe.
Sorry, that I can’t mention everyone.

I really got older. It is a nice and difficult task sometime to guess the age of someone.
So it happens mostly, that people guess me a bit younger. But this week, Mark repeated again and again, that I really look older, than I am. He counted me 62!!
Two days later, when I just reached the Sea again, Rawer, who invited me in his restaurant for a delicious meal, he guessed, I am 72 or so, not the face, but how I walk.
O.k., I thought, lets be relaxed also with this kind of ideas of the people.
In fact, I lost my as. My but disappeared in the last week of the Ramadan. And he is not really back. I guess, this muscle area is also build up by bicycle riding, so no sport like this in the last 1 1/2 year. And there are some other areas, for example at my upper arms, or at my belly, who look a bit flabby.

When I came closer to Beirut, I could not go to the beach anymore. Once I came to a simple beach restaurant, they asked me for a fee of 10 $ in the morning!!! Thats even more bold than the general fee for german beaches in some regions. To get the beach back to the public will be very difficult.

Cars are loud and smell a lot here. I am still waiting, that cities start to eliminate cars out of some city districts. People will love it. I am sure.

Christians and Moslems are playing a game here. In some areas are only Christians living. For example in Bcharre. And they do want to be by themself. No one will allow a moslem to live there, no one will sell him a ground or house there.
Muslim have much more children. Earlier christians where the majority in Libanon, not anymore.
The land is already full of people. Because of that I can understand this fact.
How will the country look like in 50 years, when the moslems have up to 10 or 15 children each family. There will be no nature left over. Everywhere buildings.
When do people start to feel, what is not only good for them personally or in small groups. When do they start to feel, whats important for the whole society? For the world? And start to act differently.

Thats my news update
From heart to heart
Thomas