Feeling Jamaican Way

How does the Caribbean island flow of life appeal to you?

“Such a natural mystic, blowing through the air.” (Bob Marley)

If I could summarize in two words what best describes why Caribbean cruising appeals to me, I’d utter strongly “Go Natural.” For I cope with so many others each day at home in South Florida in what I call unnatural survival confusion. How refreshing then that our first stop in Falmouth Bay, Jamaica seemed to be the ideal antidote in the tropics to reassess such an urban crisis of the mind.

Consider then how this beautiful island shrowded by “Blue Mountain” mysteries and lonely Caribbean shorelines evokes for me a much calmer state of mind. Or perhaps, it’s my admiration for the chosen dialect of many “locals” who speak in plain talk about making life less complicated than it is. Such common phrases as “No Problem”, Ya Mon”, and “Bless Up” thus resonate with me as a way to simplify decision making, worry less and just be myself at all time. Under such casual circumstances, I struggle less understanding for instance why in Jamaica a popular Catholic Church lies next to a beer factory, to what extent looking black or white matters, or how risky it might be to try natural herbs from the jungle to ease pain in my aching knees.

Perhaps most of all, the issue of unity comes to mind when I reflect on Jamaica’s authentic influence on my life. For as I gaze wondrously at how life here flourishes with so much diversity of plant, animal, and humankind here, isn’t it more natural then for us to similarly co–exist peacefully in “One Love” as Bob Marley once uttered in a soulful reggae song? Enjoy my latest photos.