Mood lighting

As the last daylight fades in the west, our Boeing 737 Max “Oscar Wilde” is making its climb out towards Gibraltar. The time at the airport quickly flew by with preparations for the coming two weeks in the classroom, accompanied by the happy news that our counter-party will not appeal the legal victory that we won back in December.

Yet, with the mood lighting turning blue, I am reminded of the monkey in chains that was forced to entertain at the square, the endlessly waiting horses, and all the other shadows of humanity’s past. At the same time, I have to say it was a very different Morocco from the one I visited just a decade ago. Poverty was far less visible, the kids seemed happier and there were now electric busses on the streets.

Maybe the glass of tempranillo that I order somewhere over Spain helps blurring the edges but is important to not lose sight of these longer lines. Again, Jon is right, this should be a time of radical optimism. Yesterday, running those 42 km with people from all over the world, some dressed as clowns and others shouting “Allahu akbar”, our common humanity left me smiling. If we want, we can indeed be our better selves.