dailies

‘I would say the project has brought changes for all of us, and sometimes we need to adjust to the newly experienced.’
Alice smiled a little. She suspected that Farid talked cryptic on purpose, or maybe as a challenge, a challenge to the listener to kick the grey cells into action and do some thinking.
‘Which changes has the project brought for you?’ Alice asked, though she wasn’t sure how direct she could be with Farid. There was always something grave about him, something that made her wonder whether she shouldn’t keep some kind of reserved distance. Besides, over the last weeks she had lost sight of him. He had been to all big meetings, but never contributed, always the silent observer. She had no idea how the previous weeks had been for him.
He was silent now, too, thinking, it seemed. But when he looked up, his gaze was surprisingly open, unreserved, and he replied with a touch of nonchalance: ‘The weather.’
Alice laughed.
Farid smiled, a rare treat, and added: ‘Being at this project is like being on a different planet. It’s like being inhibited because so much is unfamiliar. But at the same time much is inspiring. I feel free in new ways because the mind broadens, and overlooked colours, motions, sounds are added to my horizon. And while the project opens many doors, it never demands that we throw away what we know, what is ours. It asks us to connect what we know to what we find. It asks us to explore, and ultimately to decide which parts to keep, and which parts to use to create something new.’
Alice smiled. Farid’s answers were often short. But sometimes he would formulate a thought with care and depths and with a hint of poetry. ‘I hope that will always be true of our project,’ she returned.
Farid nodded. ‘I think it will. I think our project can give new impulses because it shows that a town can come alive if it has a purpose, a focus, something to aim for — and not for the sake of tourists, or for an industry or speculators but with and for the towners. I remember you said: “Nature is always in motion. That’s what makes it alive.” I think the same is true for communities. But many seek to exploit and control communities, aiming for one kind of truth and overlooking that control and truth stifle potentials. Though, I wonder how we could stay in motion and still have some guiding control and more importantly protection from harmful ideas and behaviour. Do you think that is possible?’
Alice shrugged. ‘I don’t know. But we should add this thought to our list.’
‘The lists are already growing again,’ Farid remarked, looking at the dancers with unseeing eyes. After a moment, he shook his head pensively. ‘To think that I believed for so many years I had most of the answers I would ever require, and to experience in just a few months how superficial and in many cases insufficient my answers were. Strangely, it fills me with joy. It puzzled me at first. It unsettled me next. But now every new question seems to strengthen me. It is questions that make me feel alive. Answers only dulled me.’
Farid looked at Alice. ‘How long have you known about the value of questions?’

Sometimes I edit online. Why?
I can’t quite explain it, but editing online gives me a different perspective and grip on a scene.