Ten years ago, while living in Mexico as a college student, I decided to return to my old homeland for six months as a foreign exchange student... I had a round trip ticket, where the return was no longer California, but instead Mexico... I was a foreigner indeed... A whole lot has happened in the last ten years, including several changes of residences up and down the North American continent, but here I find myself reliving a similar situation...returning as a foreigner from Mexico to a place I once called my California home... This time, a foreign exchange student of life enrolled in the graduate program of LOVE.
This particular exchange program only lasted two weeks, just enough time to visit the beloved parents and friends, attend a childhood friend's wedding, and, of course, vote for the next president of the United States of America! Initially, I had my reservations about going back... I love my simple life in Mexico. How would I feel coming back as a foreigner in my old town? Would I get sucked back into the old complex way of life? Could I be my now simplified self and still feel at ease among the crowd? What sort of impact would these two weeks abroad have on my studies of Love(me)?
Now, with the course completed and on the plane ride home, these are my conclusions from my studies abroad...
Lesson 1
Life is in a constant state of change (even in the bubble of Santa Barbara...although less noticeable than other locations). All is consistently changing and evolving for the greater good of life... even if we don't always initially see the good in certain changes. The variety is beautiful and is what keeps things from becoming stale. It is when we resist the change and try to hang onto a past moment that we begin to feel frustrated. "Hay que fluir!" como dice mi querida amiga, Belen... But there is ONE constant amongst the ever moving flow - LOVE. And no matter how much change occurs, LOVE is the glue that keeps it all together. Six months has gone by since I was last with my parents and California friends, but being with them again was like no time had passed because of the LOVE that keeps us bonded. LOVE is of the heart and eternal, while, time and space are boxed in and limited creations strictly of the mind. Relationships bonded by LOVE are eternal and no amount of time and space change can break the bond. I am free to be my foreign self, always knowing that LOVE sticks and change takes care of the rest.
Lesson 2 Speaking of change, during my stay, I lived through (and safely observed) the fires that swept through the hillsides of Montecito. Most would say that it was a natural disaster, but my experience as an observer, prefers a more positive term for the event... a cleansing. I fully understand the devastation and grief that comes with this sort of cleansing, but also recognize it's polar opposite... knowing and accepting that one could not exist without the other and to appreciate both sides. I saw the fire first hand destroy my sweet Shanni's house, something her family (The Harts) had put their heart and soul into building. It was HARTbreaking to see their tears and feel their yearning to go home... a place that no longer existed outside of their memories. But in that deep moment of sorrow, came a huge burst of JOY from an Angel (in the) Skye. My best buddy Skye, gave her heart (and thousands of dollars worth of her favorite clothes) to our sad friend who was feeling incredibly blue and depressed about her loss. The happiness it gave Skye to share her material wealth with Shanni and her family far surpassed any momentary high she had experienced acquiring any of these "things." It's hard to find purpose in clutter after that experience... other than release and detachment... That's when you realize what has been underneath all along... LOVE is forever there, but sometimes goes unnoticed when buried by distractions of stature, wealth, image...
It was amazing to live this Pure space of giving and receiving. Absolute Oneness. Shanni may have received "tangible" gifts from Skye (that will definitely fill the void and then some in her closet) of material wealth...but the clothes were really just a symbol of the exchange taking place. More than "tangible" items, it was LOVE being exchanged... Priceless. No words can describe that LOVE and i was truly honored to be present in such heartfelt moment...
So many of us choose to define ourselves by these symbols, just cluttering our field with distraction from who we really are... LOVE. The material clutter brings sporadic moments of happniess, where LOVE invites a lifetime of JOY. Which one do you choose?
photo credit goes to PureSkye Images... website soon to follow...
