The final day in Athens has arrived. With my characteristic perspicacity, I noted…
Last night was last night but tonight’s the last night.
I am surprised that I did not record more of my thoughts and feelings about my trip coming to an end. Similarly with leaving Matala. One thinks these moments should be charged with insights, infused with meanings, etched deeply into our psyches, but in the end they are just moments we passed through. Maybe it is only later that their importance and relevance are revealed. I am reminded of Sarte’s thoughts about having an adventure – something along the lines of you do not recognise it as an adventure at the time. It links with concepts of mindfulness, of being in the moment, but the paradox is in the metacognitions about being in the moment. In some ways it is like being at a live concert but experiencing it through your recording of it on your smart phone. I have always been sceptical of the construct “making memories” because it seems to introduce an element of artificiality, imposing a psychological and emotional burden of expectation that is actually counterproductive. Just do stuff, enjoy that stuff, and the important stuff will stay with you and shape you and the narrative of your life, and everything else will be confetti in the wind. These points are more eloquently expressed by Daniel Kahneman in his TED talk about happiness, where he distinguishes between our experiencing selves and our remembering selves.
Well, that was an unexpected little philosophical diversion. Now it is back to the mundane matter of my last night in Athens. I had a meal with Deedy, Jim and Debbie, consisting of cold boiled fish with mayonnaise and rice. I noted that it was very tasty. This was followed by a pleasant stroll around Plaka.
I packed my things between 22.30 hrs and midnight, and then went for a final stroll to see the moonlit Acropolis high above the city. Years later and many cities later, I wrote a poem called Last Nights in Foreign Cities, in which I suggested that these moments become emblematic of endings in our lives.
And that is a good point to end this post. Tomorrow we start the trip on the Magic Bus!
Psychologist on the Move 