There are no accidents in life. Even in the simple act of browsing a book shelf you can feel the magnetic pull of words that must be folded into your consciousness. Bumbling through the aisles of a bookstore in the Munich airport with carry-on bags in tow, I stared bleary-eyed at the very limited selection of books available in English. I passed it over several times, then picked up Paulo Coehlo's newly released book, ALEPH. Turning it over, the back-jacket heading trumpeted, "Read ALEPH and rewrite your life.". More than a sign, it was a mandate.

And so, as I boarded the last leg of my flight from Charleston, South Carolina to Ankara, Turkey, and settled in with my new purchase, I saw my thoughts reflected in the mirror of ALEPH. There it was on page 11; the encapsulation of what I hope to discover as I while away the summer in Turkey.

"After weeks on the road, listening to a language you don't understand, using a currency whose value you don't comprehend, walking down streets you've never walked down before, you discover that your old "I", along with everything you ever learned is absolutely of no use in the face of those challenges, and you begin to realize that, buried deep in your unconscious mind, there is someone much more interesting and adventurous and more open to the world and to new experiences."

And so the search is on. Hopefully I will unearth that more interesting and courageous person buried within, the one who has been laying in hiding, toiling away at routine tasks and a slumping career.