Pit Stop in Paris (2018)

After having spent 3 months living in the Costa Rican jungle, I had begun to get a bit too comfortable, so off I went. As mentioned in the previous post, I secured a job as an Ashtanga Yoga teacher in Xiamen, China. This opportunity was one of those random curve balls that life threw my way. It was something I never could've expected. Expect the unexpected - so cliché, but so true. If your mind is open, then the world is also open to you. A big mind equals big fun! As a side quest before hopping over to China, I decided to spend some time in Paris with Stella before venturing off to the coast of Xiamen. This small decision would have great positive consequences down the road. The minute is never really minute and what seems grand is sometimes only a facade...

This side quest to France unveiled some important things to me. First, I learned that revisiting an old love can be tricky. I had built up expectations about what it'd be like to revisit Stella after our time apart since India. Maybe it had been around 4 months since we saw each other? I don't remember exactly. However, the connection was never the same. How could it be? Life had kept going. We had both kept growing. Things had changed, as is the nature of life. The Corey and Stella that reunited in Paris (where Stella lived) were not the same Corey and Stella that shared a romance in India. Looking back, I can say that I was holding onto something from the past and trying to resuscitate it in the present. I've learned that some loves are meant to be temporary. They are meant to be fleeting. Though this in no way takes away from the value or beauty of what that love was/is. Some loves are meant to come into our lives, teach us something, then once we learn that something, it's time to let each other go. Almost like our lovers are life's teachers in disguise...or something like that. Anyways, I'd come to understand this lesson much later. Besides, I still had a few things that my being with Stella was supposed to teach me. It wasn't quite the time to part ways, not yet.

The next "small" decision that would change my life course was that of going to my first circus show. The show was called "Speakeasy" by Cia The Rat Pack. I remember everything about the show. I remember the cast, certain scenes, the rush of emotions that I felt, and the fact that my jaw was open in awe for the whole extent of the show. I was left speechless and dumbfounded. I had never experienced something like that before. I'd heard of the circus, but had not seen it in this way. The performers were not god-like hyperboles of perfectionism. No. They were human. They were relatable. They were almost within grasp but juuuuust outside of it. After the show, I turned to Stella and said something like, "Now THAT is what I want to do with my life!". Pandora's box had been opened. This spark would grow into an unquenchable fire that would be impossible to ignore in due time. My world had been changed. I asked myself: How did the acrobats learn to do these incredible feats with their bodies? How do they train? Was it possible for me to learn these things? The onslaught of questions began. In the coming days, I would research the background of all the performers from the cast. I needed to know their path and how they got onto that stage before me. I also began to read some books and autobiographies about circus artists. One book that touched me was, "The Ordinary Acrobat" by Duncan Wall. Anyways. Stella had unknowingly given me the key to a new life by the simple act of taking me to a show. For that, I will always be thankful to her. I've shared this truth with her many times since, thanking her for taking me to that show. Fast forward to today. Eight years later and I'm a professional circus artist who is traveling the world. As I write this, I'm having a calm morning before I go and perform with my company "Rummi-Crew" at a techno festival in the forests of Italy. All because of that evening spent in the theater. The power of art...the power of one show...it can never be underestimated. One thing leads to another...and another...and before you know it, your life is changed.

Immediately after being enlightened by the world of circus, I began taking my first acrobatics classes at various places in Paris that offered public classes. I didn't have much time before I left for China, but I still managed to squeeze in a few classes. It was very clear that I had some potential, but I was far from where I needed to be, especially if I wanted to use the craft of circus to support myself. The idea of auditioning for a circus school began to circulate in my head, yet it still seemed like too outlandish of an idea. I had obtained my dream job of teaching Yoga abroad in China where I'd have all expenses paid for and a salary. I had spent years in self-practice and study working towards this exact moment, this exact opportunity... and yet I was going to set it aside and become a student in something else (circus)? I couldn't bring myself to do it. Sometimes it seems that the Universe tests us to see how serious we are about our dreams. I wasn't serious enough yet. I still had to let this Yoga teacher path play out before changing my course. Plus, my bank account was empty. I arrived in China with a few hundred dollars to my name and would have to ask my boss to pay my first month's salary in advance. In my years of traveling, I've run out of money many times. Time and time again, the Universe has provided in unique ways. As I type this, I'm once again completely broke. I will arrive in Portugal in a few days with about 200 euros to my name. My travels have taught me not to worry. I already know that I will work the streets upon my arrival, and they will without a doubt provide. As the birds find their food each day, so will I. Before long, I will be in abundance once again.

All this to say that I ignored what my heart was telling me and instead made the "logical" decision to continue onwards to China. Sometimes one must follow the heart, and sometimes one must follow the logic of the mind. Neither is "right" or "wrong". Rather, it's about the "right" and "wrong" timing of each.

My pit stop in Paris was short and sweet before I ventured onward to China, but in this short time, the circus bug was able to take root within me. I still ended up going onwards to live in China for the next 9 months working as a Yoga teacher, but before long, I would no longer be able to ignore the dormant artist that had been awakened by the circus culture of Paris. Stories from my time in China are coming right up. Some crazy stuff happened to me over there. Stuff that gives me good reason never to return again... all of which I will tell you soon.

Until then,

Corey

SIDE NOTE: Before I left Paris, I tried "handstand canes" for the first time. I was too scared to even go up on the canes. I couldn't even go up for one small hold. Too scary for me. I remember my teacher saying that one day it would all make sense if I kept training. I didn't believe him but trained as if I did. Sometimes the body follows after the mind believes. Sometimes the mind will only believe once the body proves itself. In either case, you have to unabashedly go for it. I also began experimenting with handstands in high places. My first stunt was on a bridge with the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop. I finished my handstand, climbed down, and then ran off with Stella before any police had the time to notice me. What a thrill!

***A couple of photos from that first trip to Paris. Although my acrobatics level was "trash" at best when I began dabbling in the circus arts, my Yoga practice gave me a solid base to work from. This was a back-bending asana that I practiced every day (more or less) for 5 years straight. These days I'm not as bendy in the same ways, but my back somehow has managed to stay pliable despite that fact. Once something is cemented in the body or mind, it takes a long time before it truly goes away... and yeah, handstands on objects...