We’re still here en otro lado—on the fun side of the wall—skipping the light fandango as we begin our fifth month in our adopted country. I hit a wall literally and figuratively on 8/18 (nice bump on mi cabeza!) and, as if knocking some sense into me, finally felt that I could make Mexico my home. We’re learning that “homecoming” takes a while to fully adapt to a new culture, language, monetary system, terrain, climate and cerebral rewiring, but we feel that we’re here for the duration. There is so much heart, life and color here on Lake Chapala! Here’s a pithy FB posting that speaks to making a new life: We began the process of disengaging from our old life after the 2016 election where we felt that the U.S. was no longer a compatible or affordable place for us to thrive. And here we are at last recreating […]
Finding Home in a Foreign Country
Home is said to be where the heart is and, for some, wherever you hang your hat. For me, who doesn’t like to wear hats, home is a place and state of being in which I find sanctuary. Home for me is where I can truly be myself, where it all comes off—jewelry, face, and any restrictive clothing that are called for when taking my persona out into the world. As an introvert, I am sensitive to environmental factors and too much stimulation. I seek a bright, open house connected to a serene and spacious external terrain. Maybe that comes from a lifetime or two having been incarcerated in a dark, dank dungeon! My Spirit, and no doubt my brain chemistry—that vast network of neurotransmitters and synapses—comes to life when exposed to beauty and sunlight. For both my husband, Alex, and me—two curious Scorpios—home is our place of refuge to […]
Gringos in Paradise—Five Weeks In
Alex and I are into our fifth week living in Ajijic! We’re still in the Welcome-to-Mexico-boot-camp phase, adjusting our minds, hearts and musculature to a new terrain and culture, including our intestinal biomes. Mexico definitely stretches you with its random chaos, noise, and challenge to adapt to its asymmetries. The other day we turned up an unfamiliar rocky road and I was suddenly transported into a peaceful dreamscape from the spaciousness of the lake at that vantage point. Then I thought, “Wow! I’m living in a Neptunian or M.C. Escher-like world” where you never know what you’re going to discover around the next corner or through the next doorway. Along with the effort it takes to accomplish basic tasks—like communicating, shopping, driving on narrow pebbled streets, figuring out the money exchange—there are so many astounding moments! For example, one evening when we were sitting on the balcony at sunset, Alex, […]
Gringos In Paradise—Tucson to Lake Chapala, Mexico
Changing one’s life in their 69thyear and moving to another country definitely takes fortitude, commitment and trusting in the unknown. Not having children nor living parents makes it somewhat easier to pick up and go, but at nearly 70? Hey, lots of elders have been ex-patriating for years, and maybe more so now with the uncertain political and economic climate in the U.S. For my husband, Alex, and me the journey south was a bit like trial by fire, demanding flexibility, adaptability and figuring things out as we went Our desire to retire somewhere outside the U.S. began years ago. Our concentrated search began in June, 2018 where we took a month exploring three towns in Mexico: Ajijic, Oaxaca, and Guanajuato. We fell in love with the gringo town on Lake Chapala—Mexico’s largest freshwater lake south of Guadalajara—and decided to move to Ajijic (Ah-hee-heek) on May 1, 2019. On March […]
Sensitivities of the Heart
Do you consider yourself a highly sensitive person, or empath, who is easily reactive to the noise and stimuli of the world around you? Do you sometimes wish you could wear a lead-lined space suit to protect your sympathetic nervous system and that tender, vulnerable heart? As a sensitive person, common emotional responses are anxiety (upward and outward movement of Qi energy) and depression (inward and downward movement of Qi). Anxiety can be a hyper arousal or flooding of emotions when faced with a conflict, perceived threat or the world in turmoil. Depression can be a shutting down and turning inward, which may be the soul’s way of tuning out the noise. Anxiety and fear can simply be fight-or-flight energy that arises from within our primal brains, having been programmed eons ago for our survival and safety. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the Heart is considered the ‘sovereign ruler’ that […]