Oh to be Ibiza free
Tuesday 12 July 2011
I’m just back from a nice long break, hope you’ve not missed me too much? I say break but actually I’ve been working as hard as ever writing my new book. A relationships book for men, what do you think? Do we need it?
This is my third book and I gave in to the romantic notion of taking myself away somewhere to just soak up some sunshine and let me fingers do their thing. However the first error in my plan was to take myself away to Ibiza. I know it’s the clubbing capital of the world but I had also heard tales of tranquil beaches and an energy that has made the while isle almost sacred for many civilizations over the centuries.
Now while this may be true and there might well be undiscovered havens of tranquility sadly, at least as far as my deadline was concerned they will remain undiscovered. Hidden gems, so well hidden you can’t find them with a microscope, GPS or local guide.
I did however discover that it is really hard to write anything ‘meaningful’ with the constant tinnitus of dance music everywhere you go and I did discover why Space has recently been voted the best nightclub in the world. A big thank you to Marla for her attention and myself, Billy Piper, Fern Cotton and a few other brit celebs certainly enjoyed our taste of Space. Even if you are not lucky (or rich) enough to have VIP the sound system doesn’t discriminate and the light show is out of this world.
Of course sunset at Blue Marlin (if you can find it) or the much more central Café Mambo is a must, free entertainment supplied nightly by the lagered up brits on the rocks below. As the sun sinks majestically into the med it’s last twinkling rays signal beginning of the nocturnal mating season and the clarion cry of the lesser spotted tattooed halfwit fills the air… ahhh! A chill out sound track this is not.
Maybe I’m just getting old, ok I know I am but, and it’s a big but why do people change when they think no one’s watching? People on holiday (and especially in a place where they have ‘permission’) behave completely differently than they would at home. What is it about context and social conditioning that is so strong as to dramatically influence our choices and behavior?
What would you do if you thought no one was watching? If there were no consequences and absolutely no recriminations what would you do that you wouldn’t dare do now, today in your ‘real’ life?
As I pondered the same question while sipping my Sangria by the pool I concluded that (for me) even if there were no consequences what so ever I would do nothing differently at all. Maybe that’s a definition of contentment? Maybe as I said its just cause I’m old or maybe living with nothing you’d do differently is actually what it’s all about.
There is a respected school of thought, which says that living with secretes and suppressed expression is the most dangerous thing you can do. Living with dis-ease in your mind causes disease in your body and finds it’s way out way or the other. Maybe it really is the energy of the white isle that releases the pent up frustration of daily life, certainly the cheep Sangria is a catalyst but it’s got to come out somewhere either in a rampant burst of excess or a festering dis-ease within.
The key of course is to have neither and the good news is that you have the choice to let go of something that’s hurting right now. If there is anything in your life that you are bottling up, find a way to let it go. If it’s a secret, tell someone, if it’s a frustration then take action to solve it and if it’s a worry then do something about it and stop worrying. If you can’t do anything about it, stop worrying anyway because there is simply no point and the only person getting hurt is you.
Whether the words are on the outside in the open or bottled up the inside the affect your life just as much. And as our lager swilling, street pizza making mates might say at the end of the night… better out than in!