I once read a book by Paulo Coelho. Actually, I have read three: The Valkyries, The Alchemist and… No, it was only two (I was thinking of something else). In one of them, the Valkyries, I think, he, or one of his characters, is giving a chat about… Buddhism, was it? Something like that, and I think a desert was involved. It was a while ago, and as you can tell, I don’t remember much else, but anyway… There was this thing about keeping your head up and looking at the horizon when walking. It’ was something philosophical to do with life, I don’t know, but it came back to be when I saw this photo in my collection. *
To see this kind of thing on Symi, you need to look down, and if you do, you will find patterns in the stones all over the place. Some are there by design, and there is a good example of stone engraving in the churchyard floor in the courtyard of the Kastro church (the blue and white one). There are others that are similar, but there are many more put there by bored children or teens, or even older folk, sitting on the steps, whiling away the days. You might call these ones graffiti, because they were not planned, but they are still interesting to see. For example, I remember one drawing that had a date on it from the 1980s. That’s like coming across a moment in time, because the etching in the rock could only have been made by someone sitting in that exact spot, on that date. If you close your eyes (while standing still), you could imagine the scene, and there you are in the same place, only in a different time.
This picture has nothing to do with what I’m talking about (except it’s the church I mentioned).
I guess the point is, to take time while wandering the village and look at the ground. (I’ve not seen so many etchings in Yialos, but I expect they are there.) Well, it’s safer to do that around here anyway. If you followed Mr Coelho’s advice and walked around with your eyes fixed on the horizon so your head is always held high and your spirit open to the teachings of whoever, you’d soon end up, in bandages, treading in animal leftovers, or at the very least, missing a step and hurtling down the Kali Strata at full tilt. So, look out for such details, read such books, and take time when here, to stand and stare as sheep or cows, as WH Davies suggests in his poem. You never know what you might discover.
Of course, if you also look up, you will see other interesting details you might otherwise miss, such as:
* In Buddhist walking meditation, the practice of looking ahead toward the horizon—often described as “gazing at distant mountains” or keeping the eyes open and unfocused—is a technique designed to cultivate awareness and balance. This method helps to maintain a state of relaxed alertness and prevents the mind from falling into a dull, sleepy state.
