Adelante, Tierra

"Los años pasan, nos estamos poniendo viejos..." Pablo Milanés.

Pregunto ¿viejos o sabios? Does the changing of the years change us too? What do we leave behind and what do we look forward to and why are we happy about this? ¿Por qué celebramos este cambio si quiere decir que estamos más cerca de nuestro fin? ¿Soy o no soy la misma persona que ayer? ¿Mañana seré distinta?

A veces los sentimientos se ponen fuertes durante estos cambios; es hora de despedirse al pasado y saludar el año nuevo lleno de esperanza. Next year everything will be better. Next year I'll be rich. Next year I'll find my true love. Next year the world will see me for who I really am. Next year.....next year.....NEXT YEAR.

What about NOW I ask? "Next year" no existe....solamente tenemos el "ahora." Y la Tierra que gira y sigue girando nada más tiene este momento y este momento y este momento.

Just the other day we had our "first snow" of the season. We call this night "First Night" but it's really the last night, isn't it? This year ends and another one begins, one door closes and another door opens, el sol desaparece y la luna aparece....y todo sigue adelante,

adelante,

adelante...y sigo yo y seguimos todos...¿qué más podemos hacer? Mañana voy a aprender algo nuevo, mañana algo inesperado y maravilloso me va a pasar, mañana seré más conciente, tomorrow wonderful things will happen, but hey, the truth of the matter is that "tomorrow" never comes, so all those things must happen in the Now and then I will talk about them as past events. So where do I really exist? Maybe a better question is Do I exist? Just because I think I do doesn't necessarily mean that's the truth. Okay, this is going too far. Cállate, Lorena y di "Feliz Año Nuevo."

Happy New Year!!! A todos mis amigos en todos lados.

I shall cry happy tears, happy tears to be alive and watch this year melt into another.

Soy Lorena
12/31/06

Tengo una pregunta

If you look closely you can see the face in the clouds. I snapped this photo one morning when the clouds were streaming by in unique patterns; only later I noticed the face. If you back away a little, it is easier to see.

So, I've been thinking....he estado pensando sobre la Regla de Oro, the Golden Rule. Todas las religiones tienen una version de esta regla. Yes, amazing, they all have this rule in one form or another.

Christianity--All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
Cristianismo--En todas las cosas, trata a otros como tú quisieras ser tratado, porque esta es la ley y los profetas.
Buddhism--Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.
Budismo--No trates a otros de maneras que tú mismo encontrarías hirientes.
Hinduism--This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.
Induismo--Esta es la suma del deber; no hagas a otros lo que te causaría dolor si te fuese hecho a ti.
Judaism--What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.
Judaismo--Lo que es odioso para ti, no se lo hagas a tu vecino. Esto es la totalidad del Torá; todo lo demás es comentario.
Islam--No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.
Islamismo--Ninguno de ustedes cree verdaderamente hasta que quieran para otros lo que desean para ustedes mismos.
Taoism--Regard your neighbor's gain as your gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss.
Taoismo--Considera como tuyas las ganancias de tu prójimo y sus pérdidas como las tuyas propias.
Unitarianism--We affirm and promote respect for the web of interdependence of all existence of which we are a part.
Unitarianismo--Afirmamos y promovemos el respeto por la red de interdependencia entre toda existencia de la cual somos parte.

Mi pregunta es, my question is: Tomando en cuenta toda la gente que pertenece a una religion u otra, so many people claim to belong to one religion or another and each religion has this rule, how is it possible, ¿cómo es posible que hay guerra, hay tortura, hay asesinos? How can we harm others and justify this action? Are we all hypocrites?

How can I torture you if I don't want to be tortured? Have I no feeling for another human being that I can do this horrific deed? Where is my conscience, my awareness of what is right and what is wrong? Can we commit a crime and not be punished? By harming another, do we bring about our own downfall?

I'm sorry I don't have answers for these questions, but I think they are questions worth pondering. Maybe there is an answer somewhere. Quién sabe.

De todos modos creo en el valor del ser humano y sé que hay más bondad que maldad en este mundo. I do believe in the goodness of Humanity.

May we always treat each other with kindness and respect.

Soy Lorena.
12/29/06

Twilight

It's twilight and half a moon appears with her corona de luz, reflejo del sol. Los árboles se quedan en el crepúsculo desnudos contra el frío, desnudos durante todo el invierno, desnudos pero tranquilos a la vez.

I watch as the blue of the day sky fades into the blackness of the night sky and the moon gets brighter and brighter holding the warmth from the sun.

She smiles at me, my luna, mi amor while she smiles at someone else halfway around the world. It is the same moon even though she may be upside down to some. She is always beautiful mi luna, siempre bella aunque sea pequeña o llena, brillante o borrosa......and well, aren't we similar in a way?

Are we only beautiful when we are young? What is beauty anyway? I think real beauty comes from the soul, the body being simply the outer shell that grows and changes with the seasons. Someone once told me "it doesn't matter what you look like, that's not the important thing." If you are beautiful inside that beauty will shine through to the outside and the world will see it.

Como los árboles, son bellos con sus hojas verdes, son bellos con sus hojas de colores y son bellos sin sus hojas, con sus ramas pelonas. Y allí están, altos, firmes, fijos mirando pasar este invierno esperando que venga la primavera para provocar la belleza de sus hojas nuevas.

Let us be like the trees, strong, constant, beautiful in spite of the weather just waiting to bloom again when the soft breezes blow us into Spring.

Happy winter.

Soy Lorena
12/28/06

It's just another day

In the scheme of things Christmas is just another day. It is we who give it special meaning, it is we who mark the passing of time, it is we who hope each moment will be better than the last. Our hopes and our wishes count for something though, they do, especially when they are all combined together to create a more powerful wish for good things to happen.

¿Qué quieres para la Navidad? What do you want for Christmas? Asistimos al servicio de la Nochebuena anoche en mi iglesia y estuvo más espiritual que nunca para mí. Nuestro pastor leyó un poema sobre eso, what do you want for Christmas. I can't remember all the things that were mentioned, but I know they were not material and I can think of some things along the lines of those mentioned.

I want a clean heart that expresses only kindness.
Quiero que mis palabras siempre salgan de un lugar de amor.
Quiero recordar dar las gracias todos los días por lo que me da el Universo.
I want peace to spread in the world like dominos falling in a line.
Quiero tener la capacidad de perdonar y comprender a los demás.
Quiero amar y dejarme amar.
I want always to be amazed by Life.
I want to never stop learning.
Quiero que todos mis amigos y mis queridos sean felices.

In fact, I wish that curiosity, hope, optimism, zest, enthusiasm, tolerance, interest in the world, forgiveness and mercy will be here always for us to have and use as we are able.

And then there's honesty and open-mindedness.....so many beautiful qualities in the world we can embrace if we so choose.

Entonces, digo hay que dejar que este día sea especial con deseos no materiales, sino más profundos, espirituales y así llegamos a un mundo mejor, tal vez un mundo de paz. ¿Cuántos años hemos pedido paz en la Tierra? Pues, creo que está pasando, paso a paso, pero sí hay cambios buenos en esta Tierra. Keep your eyes open, look for them and you will find them.

What do you want for Christmas?

May all your wishes come true.

Soy Lorena.
12/25/06

Oops!

Lo siento....I don't know what I was thinking yesterday when I said that the winter solstice meant equal day and equal night. Yikes. I must have been thinking about the Equinoxes.
So, this is a correction. The winter solstice, el solsticio del invierno quiere decir que el día, o sea, la luz del día es la más corta, the shortest day, and we experience the longest night or darkness.

Metaphorically speaking, what does it all mean? The shortest day, the longest night? Hibernation. Hibernación. That's what we should be doing, hibernating, like the chipmunks and the bears. Well, I don't mean literally go to sleep for the winter, just slow down if you will, take time to really look at the sky, the earth as it changes, the sun, the moon (Where is she these days?) El cuerpo necesita un descanso también y el frío es buena oportunidad de hacer todo un poquito más tranquilo. No ha nevado todavía, los días han estado preciosos, el clima no tempestuoso para nada........así que hay que disfrutar estos días cortos y estas noches largas porque ahora la Tierra empieza su cambio alargando los días y acortando las noches.

I went out again to see the sun rise and this time the sky was clear and the sun rose in perfect alignment between the two boulders as I stood on the flat rock across the field. Some ancient indigenous peoples knew all about the earth's movements and created this look-out point or healing sacred rock for all I know. It was like looking back into the past and present at the same time. So I uploaded the photo I took just an hour and a half ago. Ah, technology. Para que tuvieran una idea. You get the idea, it was an amazing moment....and right here within walking distance from my house.

My apologies for yesterday's mistake.

Have a great day.

Soy Lorena
12/22/06

Winter Solstice

El solsticio del invierno....when the day is the same length as the night. This is a time when we should be in perfect balance. But are we? No hubo sol en la mañana, la nubes taparon todo y no salió mi sol hasta la tarde, ay, pero qué tarde, qué sol y qué puesta del sol (exclamation point here). El cielo tenía nubes que estallaban en "llamas" teñidas de un color tan inusitado que no encuentro nombre. ¿Color albaricoque? ¿Chabacano? ¿Anaranjado-durazno? Peach, apricot, orange, flaming orange........I don't know, maybe it was its own special color without name, sans nom, sin nombre...heaven's color. There was so much to see, to absorb, and then night fell as it tends to do.
And that was the day. It began in darkness and ended in darkness and what I want to know is, was I there? Am I here? Where is here? ¿Dónde está aquí? Si hago caso a mi mente, pues, estoy en México, pero mi cuerpo está acá en Nueva Inglaterra, este terreno frío. In my dreams during the night I am in "fantasy land." ¿Verdad? Where is the dream world? Where is cyberspace? I have heard we exist in several dimensions at the same time. Well, now I'm beginning to believe it. My head, my dreams, my words in cyberspace, my body can all be in different places at the same time. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh(signo de admiración).

Well, I was intending to talk about something else, heh, heh, but you know how it is, I never know what I'm going to say until I say it. ;-)

So.....hoy es el solsticio y me acordé de un cuento para niños acerca de un ratón llamado Federico que en vez de guardar comida para el invierno, él guarda los colores. Los otros ratones lo regañan porque para ellos Federico es perezoso, no trabaja. Pasa el tiempo y llega el invierno. Al principio todos están contentos comiendo la comida que tenían guardada, pero después se acaba la comida y los días se ponen grises y fríos y los ratones empiezan a deprimirse. Entonces, Federico saca sus colores y los comparte con todos los ratones y todos se animan y así aguantan el resto del invierno.

So the moral of the story is that every job is as important as every other job. We need artists as well as doctors, dancers and bankers, musicians and carpenters, hotel administrators and insurance salespeople, waiters and actors, usually waiter/actor combo. We all have a place in this universe.

That's what I was thinking about on this winter solstice day.

Feliz solsticio. Happy Solstice.

Soy Lorena
12/21/06

Assumptions

No supongas, suponer te hace inventar historias...y después creerlas y traen sufrimiento. Don Miguel tells us not to make assumptions, but oh, my god, how easy we do it and don't even realize it most of the time.

I'm looking for my daughter. I call her telephone number, the phone rings and rings, no one answers, no answering machine, nothing. She is not there, (I assume). No está, y me preocupo dónde estará a estas horas. Dejo mensajes en su celular pero no me llama. I go to bed with an uneasy mind. Where is she? Where is she? ¿Dónde andará? No quiero pero me imagino que fue sequestrada y no puede comunicarse con nadie. En seguida me digo que esto es ridículo. No, she hasn't been kidnapped, but she is alone. Her boyfriend is out of the country for ten days and she's on her own. Before I sleep I ask the Universe for help, pido sosiego. Durante la noche sueño con ella, estamos hablando por teléfono un buen rato y todo está bien, me tranquilizo. La luz del día me ayuda ver todo de otro color. I wake up calmer, not worrying. Somehow I think all is well.

I call her cell phone. She picks up. "Hi, mom. What's up?"

"Where are you?"

"Driving back to town."

"I tried to call you but there was no answer. It just rang and rang."

"Oh, my phone is dead. I don't know what's wrong with it. I have no dial tone."

Assumptions. ¿Por qué pensamos o suponemos lo peor? I didn't think of a dead phone.

Este es otro ejemplo de cuando rompemos uno de los acuerdos, sufrimos a consecuencia de hacerlo. How to be aware of the potential of making assumptions before we make them, that's the challenge.

More on the Four Agreements to come......y mi lucha personal con ellos.

Assumptions have about as much substance as those clouds I enjoyed from the window of the airplane.

Soy Lorena
12/19/06