Bitter Sweet in Perpignon

I landed in Perpignon in the south of France today after 20 hours of travel from door to door. With great anticipation I could not wait to disembark off the plane and set foot on these grounds steeped in Grail history. Just yesterday on my way to the airport I was stunned to find out that I have direct roots in this very region on my mother's father's side. And my mother, who was just as stunned to find out this was my exact destination, informed me that she had vacationed here with her parents for a couple of summers just before they passed and was left with wonderful memories.

I want to be able to write and say that I felt great joy on touching down on this once elegant and romantic town, but that changed when the clouds parted. Instead I saw - just another over crowded corner of the world, humans cutting out their little boxes called home, insane drivers racing for their life, garbage strewn on the side of the road and iron bars on most of the store fronts.

I'm in a bitter sweet mood tonight. Resolved that it is so. It will be my fuel for tomorrow's symposium on social innovation and the shift for human conscious evolution.