In Chicago

I wake up around seven in the morning, go to the gym for an hour and a half, grab a light breakfast, then hop in the taxi with Karen to go to the studio where we work until the evening.

That’s more or less the routine I have been following during this first week in Chicago. I would be so knackered by the end of the day, the only thought I could welcome was a good night sleep. I actually enjoy this very unadorned and focused life. Just concentrate on my task and nothing else matters. I even surprise myself at not even being tempted to meet up with people, browse the bookstores or the record stores - something is wrong…?

It’s strange. I feel like I am emptying myself so to welcome a new life. A friend of mine talked about mutation and the word quite accurately describes the process I‘m undergoing. I’m dropping my inner skin  and do not feel the slightest regret nor fear to leave it behind. Not anymore.

But I see it happening all around me. Hope is spreading. Better things are to come even if it’s not going to be easy, but we have the hope and that is a vital ingredient to build something positive. At last. I never thought this energy could be so palpable, but as I walk on the streets of Chicago, the evidence of it is everywhere. It’s so simple, one man speaks out and people listen because their hear someone who seems to understand them. His words are told to raise confidence and strength, not fear and paranoia.  Faith doesn’t make things easier, it makes things possible.