It was set to be an afternoon with a friend like any other, a stroll around Sydney sharing our latest adventures and grabbing a few beers at a bar, but something was different.

We meet at Circular Quay, greetings with a hug (that's how they do it in Australia) and off we go for a wander around The Rocks. We cross the neighbourhood, really lovely with its old stone buildings, there's a little hint of France about it. We chat about this and that, it feels good to see each other again.

We decide to cross the Harbour Bridge on foot, the weather is glorious, there's a beautiful view of the surroundings including the opera house. The conversation flows on, it's smooth, it comes naturally, ping-pong without a pause.

After a few kilometres, our appetite kicks in. The hunt for a sandwich shop comes up empty but we stumble on a Japanese place. Sashimi it is! We settle in the park beneath the Harbour Bridge, the sunset is there for the show. The hours pass but time seems to be no more than a theory.

We settle into a bar. Saloon vibe, everything is made of wood with animal trophies on the wall. Nice atmosphere but poor beasts. A beer on the table; despite the surrounding racket, the world around us doesn't exist. I look at the person across from me, and it isn't a face, not blond, brown or red hair, not blue, green or brown eyes, not a beauty spot or a piercing, but directly the inside of the mind that I glimpse, a feeling rather than a physical form. A direct mind-to-mind connection.

The conversation would carry on a while longer, and it was deeply enriching in every way.

I leave that evening grinning from ear to ear and utterly confused at the same time. My mind grew and was completely turned upside down. I've already lived moments like this with longtime friends, but I didn't think it was possible to have so much intensity in a single day.

And you, has it ever happened to you?

Hugs