Geoff Thompson: Writer – Teacher – Martial artist

I thought it might be nice this week on the penultimate newsletter of 2009 to have a guest article from my lovely friend Wael. Actually it is not an article as such, but a poem. My friend lives in Dubai, and this piece was sculpted after he completed my masterclass. Despite the fact that we have become fast friends and that we are fellow artists, what I love about Wael and what is reflected in his poem is his openness – he lives in a culture rich with heritage and knowledge and yet he still made the fourteen hour round trip at great cost every month to gain experience from outside of his usual influence.

And what I admire about him is his courage – he is brave enough to invest in himself. Few people are brave enough to invest in themselves. In order to reach our fullest potential we must by necessity step outside of what we know, physically, psychologically, fiscally and geographically.

People rarely court the fertilising agent of discomfort; it is always too far, too hard or too damned expensive. Every time I find myself falling for these excuses (the usual suspects) I think of Wael and his monthly pilgrimage from Dubai and I kick myself up the arse for thinking too small.

People that do not invest in their own potential do not grow their own potential.

And I am also enamoured by Wael’s generosity – because he has taken so much inspiration from our newsletters and podcasts and books he has taken it upon himself at his own cost to translate many of his favourites into his mother tongue so that his other countrymen and women might be similarly inspired.

Openness, courage and generosity are so rare (and so attractive because they are so rare) that I felt inspired to laud him.

We had cream tea together this week in the Coomb Abbey when he visited me from his home in the UAE and we had a fantastic day (not least because we were also joined by another fellow traveller, our friend Warner). We walked through the grounds in a light rain, then we retired to the lobby of this grand and ancient hotel, once a monastery, and had tea and cake – we talked the whole afternoon away. How wonderful. It does not get much better than that let me tell you.

So for this week’s newsletter please allow me introduce, and hand you over to the poet Wael. www.waelalsayegh.com

By Wael
Pearl Diving in Coventry

A Poem Dedicated to Geoff Thompsons’ Master Class 2009 by Wael Al-Sayegh
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In my homeland of Arabia, long before we were blessed with the comforts of oil, my ancestors were Pearl Divers,
For five months of the year they risked life and limb and dived into the depth of the Arabian Gulf to find pearls.

For thousands of years that was how we survived the harsh conditions of the desert.
Then, oil came along and washed away the discomfort; washed away the constriction.

Don’t get me wrong, I love how my country has developed into a cosmopolitan metropolis, I love cruising in my car under the shadows of modern skyscrapers listening to my fusion jazz tunes.

But alas, my bones are craving the same discomfort as my ancestors once endured; they yearn for constriction and struggle

You all might think I am crazy, but
It’s true.

The calm waters of my environment are suffocating me, I need to dive deep into a stormy ocean and find my pearls, my pearls of wisdom, my pearls of knowledge, and my pearls of sanity.

The amazing thing about pearls is that they are a product of a self defense system.
A parasitic invasion enters the oyster, the oyster deals with the invasion, the discomfort,  by meeting it head on.  A protective liquid is secreted that engulfs the invasion forming a pearl sack, and that pearl sack produces a pearl.

I travel 3500 miles every month to have the honour of being with you, to stand right on top of these blue mats that are the oceans of our consciousness. We dive deep into ourselves and bring out our demons and face them head on, and in so doing, we find our pearls.

That is why, when the customs officers at Birmingham International ask me,
“What is the purpose of your visit?”
I look at them with a polite smile and then truthfully answer
“I am Pearl Diving in Coventry.”