La Vista del Otro Lado

Today I saw the view from the other side of the stream, el otro lado del arroyo. Del otro lado todo era diferente, misterioso aun. El arroyo corría a la izquierda, no a la derecha. The stream seemed to run backwards, dare I say "backwards?" No, not backwards, just different. Not always is there "right" and "wrong" but merely a variation on a theme. The stream runs to the right, the stream runs to the left, and one is not more correct than the other.

Vi una casa en la colina (mi casa) y pensé "¿Quién vivirá allá en esa casa morada? ¿Qué clase de gente pintaría su casa morada?" The purple house on the hill, oh my god. Qué misterio. Deben de ser artistas, excéntricos con gustos eclécticos, deben de pasar el tiempo fumando mota, deben de hacer muchas fiestas con gente extraña....deben de....deben de... etcetera ad infinitum.

Pero, mis amigos, que fácil es juzgar sin saber. "He drives a ______car, so he must be____"
He has long hair so he's a hippy. He has a shaved head so he must be a "white supremist skin head." He is black, therefore_________, she is Asian, so she_________. ¿De dónde sacamos estos opiniones estereotípicos? El "otro lado" es el lado desconocido, el lado que no comprendemos, el lado misterioso. So we judge it, we make assumptions, then believe those assumptions and make comments based on those beliefs. It all comes back to the Four Agreements, doesn't it?

So, there I was, standing on the "other side" of the stream, looking back into my world from a different viewpoint, la vista del otro lado, wondering, pensando, "how are things different from this viewpoint?" Nada es como parece...nothing is what it seems. So, making these judgments is really a waste of time.....and so inaccurate.

You have the right to remain silent. Hmmm....as if silence were right. You have the right to make a comment, even if your comment is not "right." Funny how silence can be misinterpreted. (Could it be that he/she is angry? Sick? Too busy?) I remember that expression No news is good news. But NO NEWS is NO NEWS. And oh, so easy to judge.
Es bueno conversar, platicar de un asunto, intercambiar puntos de vista, ver la vista del otro lado. See, listen to, feel another's point of view.

What kind of people paint their house purple? People who have been to Mexico and love the way bright colors are used for houses, buildings and doors. People who want to bring a little bit of that Mexican warmth into their cold New England lives, people who can't wait to go back to the land of the sun.

I think I said enough for today.

Ya basta por hoy.

Soy Lorena.
1/6/07