Arriving Home, the End of a Journey.

Looking back it all seems so logical, so natural, but it did not always feel like that. I am still in awe about how a new life fell into place just like that. Within two weeks I found two jobs, one came with fabulous accommodation attached and I will still have time to work on my film.

It all came together on the 14th day after I arrived in Sydney. It began with a total stranger offering me a free bicycle. Next I had a successful job interview which was followed by news that I was accepted for the first position (with accommodation) I applied for earlier that week. The day ended with another total stranger giving me two free movie tickets because he was unable to attend the screenings. Someone said I should have bought a lotto ticket that day as well…

Somehow that did not cross my mind. I was blow away about how everything had fallen into place on the one day. I gratefully accepted everything as signs that I was in the right place and that I had arrived in Sydney at the right time and that I could relax.

I now live just down the road from this sign, hehe.

I moved into my new home the next day and I was no longer a nomad or a pilgrim, my journey ended that very day. No longer was I in a bardo, the ‘in-between-space’ separating one life from another.

I did not return to the place where I started. I have moved on in so many ways; economically, physically, emotionally and spiritually. That gives me great joy as it means that my journey was not in vain. Not only have I found a new home, but I feel I have also found ‘the home within’ I was searching for.

How can I tell? Well I don’t know how to explain the experience I am having. But then... as it happens, someone send me a link to this video of a presentation called ‘A stroke of Genius’, (click on the title to watch the video) by Jill Bolte Taylor. It possibly describes the kind of experience I am having right now, a ‘right brain experience’.



I feel very happy, grateful, at peace with where I am, what I do or don’t do and most importantly who I am. I feel connected, not just with myself, but with everything around me, I accept the way things are with ease and go with the flow of the moment. I am no longer living the old ‘life of doing’, but living a new ‘life of being’ instead. This is what I set out to change by going on this journey of transformation. I never dared to dream that I would actually achieve that goal, an achievement worth celebrating and celebrating I did.



It so turned out to be that time of year in Sydney for the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. It was the 30th anniversary. The first time I watched the parade was in 1986, never was I in the parade, something I always wanted to do. It was now or never. I managed to join a float, was given a press pass, enabling me to film.



There were 500,000 people cheering on the parade, 10,000 people in the parade. I had the best time ever! Loved the crowd! For me it was my ‘homecoming parade’, nobody knew that of course but that did not matter. It provided a fitting closure to my journey ‘home’, my ‘pilgrimage in search of self’.



Right now I am still enjoying just being here, being in a new place, a new space, the right side of my brain. Soon I will start editing my film. That process could take up to 12 months. I intend to keep posting on this blog, possibly about the editing process, the writing and rewriting of my script, my journey, my life, my experience of past experiences.

It seems to be a fitting moment to thank everybody who has supported me during my journey: my friends and family, my extended family, the kindred spirits, the many ‘random’ strangers, the angels in disguise, all those who offered me a place to stay, all those who were willing to listen, give advise, challenge me, give honest feedback, hold up a mirror, all those who helped me in times of need, everybody who has been a witness, you all know who you are. I am truly grateful to you all, I feel humbled and blessed by your presence.

Thank you so much indeed! Marcel

At home down-under.