Human Library of Experiences - Charbel Haddad

Bonfire with my brother, October 2023

Dancing around the bonfire. Singing "Cloudy day, cloudy day, cloudy day, and thaaaat's ok."

Wondering how we make glossy magazine paper as we watch it resist itself burning bright. Plastic? Glue? Plastic glue? Funny how we never thought to ask that before.

"The most down to earth level headed hippie," he called me.

I like it. I love it. I'm humbled.

5-mths-old Baccio is braving the fire. Then barking fearfully at his moving shadow formed by the dim lights on the nearby shed.

A serene moment in cottage country Cantley, Quebec, near the South-Eastern border of Ontario.

My right foot toes are frozen. Part of my right hand fingers too.

It was a beautiful night nonetheless. The comfort of no mosquitoes is worth the extra chill.

Moments are meant to be experienced everywhere.

I have never been anywhere that didn't have beauty to offer.

Make the moment happen wherever you are. There's always something to enjoy.

Don't just observe. Participate.

I mentioned some of the beautiful minds I have met. My brother was most intrigued by these characters. The retired (and most loving) Texan Ranger turned nude photographer and erotica author and publisher, the Israeli ex-Wall street expert and uni professor who turned spirit distiller and continues to adopt children everywhere he goes (I think he's at about 9 now, no exaggeration), the Catalonian toy maker in Shantou who grew up partying in Ibiza every summer, the Chinese garment factory owner who (confidentially) designs for French Haute Couture catwalks, the Austrian brothers who skinny dip at every occasion regardless of the time of day or whose around, the American man from North Carolina who can't have a constructive conversation with the people he grew up with after having left the U.S. long ago, the Northern Italian engineer who looks down on his southern neighbours for not knowing the density of the moon, the Barcelonian stage architect in Hanoi who spends his downtime creating complex origami designs and their corresponding build instructions to eventually be invited to design a multi-million dollar resort in Phu Quoc.

I stopped there as the convo took a different direction but i could have easily went on for hours. The Mexican who learned to rap in Vietnamese just for fun as he advocated for Youth empowerment through a more pleasant and enjoyable approach to education, the American man who pulls balloons out of his pockets to make animals for the kids playing volleyball in rural Binh Xa, the brilliant Polish lady who now teaches Theory of Knowledge in Hong Kong, the lovely young French man near her who has the loveliest family - and wine, the Indian Oyster king in HK who I forgot to get in touch with during my last stop there that saw a massive 140yr old flood, the Indian ship captain who first sailed to Beirut and now imports steaks to Hanoi, the Iraqi ex-submarine-cigarette-smuggler in Hanoi turned to Shawarma sales, the Lebanese CEO of a steel company based out of Saigon and Vung Tau who now concerns himself with what to say as a mentor to university students, the Lebanese cashew company owner who's in love with the most racist (anti-Chinese) person I've ever met (and I've met a few)... I could literally go on for hours as I haven't even scratched the surface of simply referencing the uniquely interesting individuals that I' have had the pleasure of meeting, let alone dig deeper into each of their stories and the moments I was lucky enough to share with them.

I've never met a bad person. I've met good people, few of whom did some things that were misguided, misunderstood, selfish and/or inconsiderate.

We all choose our paths and make mistakes along the way. Some of us take more risks and pay higher prices. Some of us take no risks at the expense of lesser life experiences. Some of us take advantage of situations. Some of us don't. We all want to discover - even those who don't care to try anymore. We all want to love - even those who appear cold, rough or alone. We all want to be loved - especially those who seem undeserving of it.

He eventually asked "what's your end game? What do you want to get at the end of all this?" I had booked a flight to Bogota not knowing how to spell Colombia prior to the purchase. I have no idea what I'll be doing there nor where I'll be staying yet. I'm just ready for my next adult life phase, maybe explore Latin America, pick up a new trade or skill. maybe improve my tango. maybe my jujitsu or kungfu or taichi, or maybe something completely new. "I want universal quality human learning to be freely accessible to everyone everywhere." "I can learn anything from youtube!" "Yes, only you already know how to ask the right question(s)!" "What about the ones that can't read?" "Make all learning and teaching methods for each chunk or module of human learning available so that any guardian or neighbor can facilitate the process, helping empower themselves and their community." "so why don't you get 12 teachers to record all of the school years and make the videos available? same for uni." "Uni courses already exist and accessible on opencourseware, coursera and edx. Again, you need to know what you're looking for. Help everyone learn about the things that need and are concerned with immediately, but also help them learn about their unknown unknowns in an intuitive manner."

I want to empower people, said my sister in law. How will you achieve this? I don't know. What do you want to achieve? I want to sing and dance. Everyone does. What do you want to achieve? I want to empower people. How? I don't know. I want to help homeless people not be homeless. How? I don't know. You're in marketing. Study the hierarchies that affect social class dynamics and figure out what factors and indicators seem to have an effect on homelessness. Create a campaign that can help raise awareness and suggest approaches on how to address the negative factors identified, leveraging your profession in a way that satisfies what you're trying to achieve on a more personal level. I also care about water. Many people don't have access to quality water. Ok. Start with a campaign about water so you learn the workings of a city and its public works and services. Once you figure out how to beat water issues, then you can battle homelessness, which I would imagine will undoubtedly entail a multitude more factors to consider and thoroughly understand (maybe I'm wrong, I don't know).

Find a purpose. Something that triggers you emotionally. Something you really care about it. Try to understand it as best as you can. Once you know more about it and maybe you find you're dispassionate about the topic, it's ok to just stop. Simple. Then figure out in which direction you want to pivot. If there's no pivot, or if your feelings are triggered by something else at this point, define exactly what about it that draws you. Define a new goal. A new achievement you care to chase after. A new purpose. Keep digging. Keep exploring. Keep discovering. Keep curious. Until you achieve what you're after. Then, 'til you achieve the next thing you're after. And again. And again.

And, again.

Connecting the dots backwards, as Steve Jobs famously said (not a fan of Apple or Jobs, more a fan of Wozniak, so it's difficult for me to even quote Jobs), you may eventually realize that your entire path was far more aligned in causal effects than you possibly could have initially imagined before you took your first step.

Cheezy childish rap from August 2021:
Don't be shy, be curious

You wave ya hands
And u point ya fingazz;
You run ya lips,
Sounding like a word ninja.

All I see, though,
And all I hear,
Is but a small child
Tryin'a find what's in ya.

Get off the hype bra,
And get back to ground,
Where you can prep ya rocket
Even though it's still bound.

Ain't no tellin how high
You'll be ready to fly,
Once you know you can learn
Without fear of being shy.