"EUREKA!"

“ I was then in Germany, to which country I had been attracted by the wars which are not yet at an end. And as I was returning from the coronation of the emperor to join the army, the setting in of winter detained me in a quarter where, since I found no society to divert me, while fortunately I had also no cares or passion to trouble me, I remained the whole day shut up alone in a stove-heated room, where I had complete leisure to occupy myself with my own thoughts.”(376)

 Just as Rene’ Descartes described in “Discourse on Method” , I too find enlightenment in solidarity. My purpose in finding Enlightenment isn’t to figure out the wonders of the world, but to find the mysteries that lie within myself.

     The society in which I live, consist of a different kind of war. A war of distractions, consisting of friends, entertainment and technology. I sometimes seal the entrance of my four wall room in an attempt to be at one with myself. I seal the entrance of technology to find peace of mind. There is a difference between being alone and being lonely and when I sit alone I find myself in the company of a million thoughts, ideas and answers. Its as if my mind, body and soul each take a seat of their own and discuss myself with spirituality. Everything becomes clear, all the answers make sense and each part of me is in agreement.

     We all discuss my past, present and future. We discuss events and the roles others play in my life.  We decipher what is right and wrong and what the solutions of a truly enlightened one are. My enlightenment isn’t just based on how the world views me. It is based on how me, myself and I view myself.

Narrow Road through the Backcountry

     Basho’s story tells of a journey to find enlightenment, and peace within ones self.

Throughout his journey he travels paths that connect him to his spirituality and ancestry. Although the grounds he covered have been visited before and lingers with the scent of history and folklore, it seems as though Basho manages to leave behind as much as he took from his jouney.

     Although I was born in the U.S., My mother and father are from a small country in the Caribbean call Grenada. As a little girl every summer my mother would send me to the island of Grenada in an effort to introduce me to the land of my fore fathers and give me a sense of where she was raised and the routes she took daily in order to provide a life for me.

     Just as Basho found enlightenment and spirituality on his journey, so did I. Every morning before the cocks could crow, I would rise with my family and honor the way of the land. We would have breakfast together (a tradition that has gotten lost in America) which consisted of pure coco tea from the coco trees outback. Then I would complete as many chores as an American girl my age can handle. I loved watching my grandmother and cousins wash clothes by hand down by the river. I didn’t have the strength they had but I learned the value of work and the things I take for granted in my everyday life.

     While my cousins were away in school I would walk miles into the mountains with my uncles, we hopped stones across rivers and waterfalls to get to the gardens. Once there we picked all kinds of fruit and nutmeg to bring back home. My Grandmother and I would then pack the fruit and peel the mace off of the nutmeg to sell in the market. By the afternoon my cousins would return and show me what childhood was like for my mother. We walked everywhere, visited family, Swam in the sea, Caught craw fish for dinner, and even though my grandmothers house had indoor plumbing by this time, I bathed in the river before nightfall.

     I remember talking to my mother one day, she was telling me a story of the road she took to school every morning. Instead of walking the paved road, she would take a the short cut through the mountains and pick fruit on the way there. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride because I too have walked the same road, for a different purpose.