I am in Mexico again running my artist residency. Aside from a cruel bacterial infection that is stopping me from eating all the tacos I want, life is good.
I love Mexico. I love the warmth, the sun, the people, the food. Blah, blah, blah, I've written about this before. But there's more I think.
Life is slower here. (Truer?) I don't know what it is, really. Culture? Weather? History? Things are simultaneously easier and harder and none of it matters all that much. It seems that there is more face to face, less technology. More connection, less isolation. Less faces in cell phones? More experiential moments, more fully lived moments.
But also, keep in mind, I have a crush on Mexico. Have for quite some time.
My friend Andy writes crazy good. He sends out periodic emails with some of his writing from experiences in every day life. It's mind-boggling that so much happens to Andy in the course of an average day, but then I think: the same happens to all of us! Andy is just better at noticing it and then recording it.
So that's what I do: I try to be better at noticing things. And I'm better at it in Mexico. More observant. More aware.
Sometimes I feel more awake in Mexico.
A lesson for all of us to keep awake to what is around us. Life is in the details observed. Joy is in the interaction.
Eat more tacos.
Beautiful lesson! There is always so much happening around us, there's never a deficit of intake if the senses are open to receive, to expand our worlds and let the outside in. I think as we grow older and get into the rhythms of living we build up walls- whereas in childhood we had an open eyed curiosity. The defenses make sense- how much can we take in? How do we shield ourselves from the ugly? We need to master the art of being open but protecting ourselves, residing in that balance. Simple, but not easy. It is all worth it when we notice a tree, a kind person, something interesting with senses that might have been glued to a screen. This morning I turned my headphones off on the train and heard someone singing a gospel song while someone else sang about California. A strange medley. Reality. Music. In a sense, nothing happened on that train- yet that isn't really telling the authentic story. It's not always the basic things that occur, but the spirit and atmosphere created that comprises the story.
ReplyDeleteI will eat a taco for you and enjoy every bite!
Yes and yes Andy. :)
ReplyDelete