The year seems to have sped by so quickly. Some say time is speeding up; others say that time goes faster the older you get. Both may be true in my case as i approach 70. Double whammy.

Acanthus spinosus, native to southern Europe and inspiration for the classical leaf motif of the Corinthian order, one of my favorite plants, growing in profusion at Tapada das Necessidades, a walled park tucked away near my former Pampulha flat.

I continue to enjoy Lisbon, a wondrous city of beauty and history. There is always lots to do and see. My social network has expanded and deepened so i may well stay out the 2-year renewal of my residence permit the immigration department has awarded me. Apart from the brief wet winters in unheated and under-insulated apartments, and humans who don't pick up after their dogs, there is not much to dislike. Okay, the local fare may not be to my taste but there are more than enough ethnic restaurants to tickle the palate. So i cook. Need to anyway as i am still on my near-vegan no-added-fat diet. Have not had any further cardiovascular issues; the arthritis and gout are under control with natural remedies.

Jacarandas in Rossio Square

These in Pampulha but they are all over the city

Blooms close-up

I would happily have remained in the renovated flat i occupied in Pampulha (see last year's epistle ) but it was sold and the new owners did not care to renew my lease. I was fortunate to find a 3-room apartment in Penha de França through the graces of Arjuna, yoga teacher and good friend, more like the brother i never had. He helped me move and settle in, shares vegan meals, and checks on me regularly. He kindly accommodates me at Arjuna Anjos Yoga Centre where i hold weekly meetings i refer to as satsang for the 21st century. Arjuna also refers clients to me for life counselling in one room i've set up for meditation and consultations. The other room i've rented out to help defray costs as affordable rents have succumbed to the AirBnB factor which has helped to inflate a rental and real estate bubble.

Decorating the meditation room, i wanted to include symbols of energy patterns which hold significance for me. Primary among these is Buddha, whose teachings are foundational. Guanyin (Japanese Kannon) traveled from India as the boddhisattva Avalokitesvara to China where he morphed into the Chinese Goddess of Mercy. Boddhisattvas forego their liberation to remain on earth to help others. The transgender aspect is particularly appealing, transcending accepted binaries and heteronormative expectations. From my Caribbean heritage, i identify with Papa Legba, loa of the crossroads, gatekeeper and intermediary between this world and the next. In Lisbon, could find only a representation of Exu Pimenta, (pronounced Eshu), a somewhat different manifestation, who is associated with love matters, pepper and associated with St. Anthony of Padua, who was actually from Lisbon. My middle name is Anthony. Exu Pimenta is said to have lived in Lisbon for a time. His image conveys a very Taino presence.

My street in Penha de França

Part of kitchen

Marquise (enclosed porch)

Bedsitter

Meditation and consultation room

Room for rent

Before i left Pampulha, i had befriended a feral cat family and adopted two of the kittens which i moved to the new apartment. I named one Patra after her distinctive patches and the other, Riga, derived from ripariga, girl in Portuguese. It has taken months of patient training to tame them to where they can now be petted and happily sleep between my legs.

Mom with three kittens in abandoned building in Pampulha

Riga and Patra at home in Penha de França

Lisbon Pride at Praça do Comércio - if you look carefully, you'll find me in the centre foreground.

The highpoint of the year was my trip to Munich with CoLeGaS, Lisbon's LGBTQ choir. We sang in the 14th Various Voices European Choir Festival. We were housed by volunteers and were feted royally. There were concerts, films, city tours, a cruise on the lake, and nightly parties. Our performance was received with standing ovations from a full house. It was so thrilling to join in a massed choir of 3000 to sing Carmina Burana in one of the city's squares.

I continue to sing with CoLeGaS and have this year joined the Lisbon Community Choir, founded by Rosie Brown who conducted both choirs before her return to London.

Arriving in Munich	CoLeGaS group shot	On stage

Happy to have discovered Tom Campbell, a physicist who explores metaphysics and has come up with a Theory of Everything he calls My Big Toe (MBT), basically that consciousness is fundamental, everything is information, we live in a virtual reality as individualized units. Fans of The Matrix will appreciate this. His theory ties up a lot of loose ends for me, though there are still some hanging threads. If you cannot binge watch as i did, his numerous Youtube videos, just watch this one to get the gist of what he talks about. You may find it an entertaining diversion to watch his videos, as escapist imaginings, or you may derive some hope from seeing a bigger picture congruent with evolution. Lord knows we need something to hold on to as our systems implode and humanity continues to destroy itself.

We know how difficult it is to change ourselves. How much more difficult it is for widespread change to take place? Perhaps in vain, i will continue to float the idea of a Planetary Index that will take hold in time and at scale to salvage what is worthy of what remains our brief civilization. I am cognizant that we are all too invested and embedded in moneytheism to allow even the inkling of an alternative way of managing resources to emerge. There are a few positive impulses like proposals for a universal basic income in selected jurisdictions, providing the homeless with homes, universal health care in developed countries, but these are not enough to turn the tide. Nothing short of a systemic shift away fungible units which are manipulated and accumulated, which limit and constrain every worthwhile effort, which corrupt and corrode every transaction, will succeed. The hype around Bitcoin will dissipate as it proves to be nothing more than a digital version of fool's gold. Fungible units and their pursuit appeal to the worst in human nature, vesting power in a few, and condemning the rest of humanity and indeed the biosphere to certain decline.

I have come to the conclusion that there is not much that any one of us can do to turn the tide. We are too puny against the forces of nature which we collectively have set in motion. We have not the collective will do better. Despite our supposed evolution, the behavior of our men is still at the level of male animals, dictated by testosterone modulated drives for power, sex and dominance. Every crisis presents an opportunity. Now is the time to become fully present, become the best we can be, live fully and heartily. Now. Defer not your dreams.