Athens, Greece
A Place I’ve Never Been
had an experience yesterday that changed the way I see myself.
I walked to a destination that—without me knowing—was planned for me to experience exactly this moment. It was just a few blocks from my hotel. A simple vegetarian dinner I had planned… yet it became something far deeper.
I was seated in front of two beautiful Polish women touring Greece.
The waiter introduced us. I turned around, acknowledged them politely, and then turned back. Not out of rudeness—but because I didn’t want to carry the silent weight of entertaining someone. I came to eat in peace.
I’ve learned to sit and do nothing.
Not play with my phone.
Not search for conversation.
Not fill the quiet.
Just… be.
To sit present, without activity, without reaching for stimulation. Letting the mind wander without gripping onto anything. Over time, this practice has given me gifts—stability, clarity, comfort in stillness.
The waiter brought my wine. I took a sip. I stared ahead, letting my mind rest in the unknown. Dinner arrived. I enjoyed every bite.
Eventually, the two women stood up and left.
I felt no pull. No curiosity. No “what if.”
Only presence.
For the first time in my life, I felt something shift.
A true freedom.
Freedom from thoughts.
Freedom from the responsibility to respond to others’ needs.
Freedom from the old instinct to entertain, charm, or perform.
Even if that simple gesture of turning to speak could have led anywhere—
I felt full.
Complete.
I didn’t need anything added. I didn’t want anything added. I was already exactly where I needed to be.
The quiet in my mind felt eternal.
The stillness, the joy, the completeness…
I had never known this place before.
I was whole.
I felt whole.
All the years of work, all the inner conversations, all the fear and discomfort—it suddenly made sense. I wasn’t chasing a reward. But a reward came.
And it wasn’t money.
It wasn’t a person.
It wasn’t status.
It wasn’t attention.
It was me.
I realize today that I get to enjoy a life few ever reach.
Not because I’m perfect. I’m not a killer, a cheater, a liar, or a manipulator. I grew up with abandonment and neglect wounds, sure, but at my core I’ve always been a kind, loving, honest human being. And still—it was a lot of work.
To look in the mirror and acknowledge my emotions.
To stop running.
To face myself without distraction.
To act from my own desires without needing outside validation.
That—right there—is where the magic happened.
To not need anything or anyone outside of yourself for you to be okay…
That is freedom.
That is power.
That is truth.
I can now see clearly how generations before me acted—my parents, my grandparents. Their choices. Their behavior. Their pain. It all makes sense now. They were carrying wounds they never faced. They left this world with unfinished business inside them.
I chose differently.
I chose the pain.
I chose discomfort.
I chose honesty.
I chose to walk straight into the fire.
I knew it wouldn’t last forever. Pain never does. Lies don’t. Falsehoods don’t. Nothing negative can survive truth.
Truth is everlasting.
And that truth led me here—to this place.
A place I didn’t know existed.
A place where fear dissolves.
Where doubt softens.
Where the self finally meets the self.
Where you become undeniably you.
A place I had never been… until now.
When was the last time you sat still long enough to hear the truth inside you?
