A Birthday Parade

OMG, I love a parade. And, evidently, so do the Mexicans. There are lots of kinds of parades celebrating religious saints, cultural fiestas and political-social events. Some small and homey, others pretty big and organized. Yet another reason why I love living in Mexico!

Today’s parade du jour celebrated the birthday of Ignacio Allende, leader of the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. This day is a VERY big deal here…and especially since this is the Bicentennial of Independence.  Allende instigated “El Grito” on September 15, 1810, the cry to arms which launched the war.Think George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson all rolled into one. Unfortunately, Allende did not live to see the ultimate independence of Mexico  from Spain as he was caught and executed in 1811 and independence didn’t happen until 1821.

And, REALLY a big deal: Allende was born in San Miguel de Allende, which was called San Miguel Grande until 1826 when the city was renamed in his honor. I am not sure how other cities celebrated Allende’s birthday, if they did at all. But we have a school holiday and a big parade with thousands of people lining the parade route which wound throughout the city and ended at city hall, right on the Jardin….the heart of San Miguel.

From the very start I realized this parade was gonna be very different than others I have seen. It was led by the national army in full gear: troops, humvees and small fast trucks, all troops in full defense uniforms and armament (Ak-47s, machine guns and grenade launchers). Many of the troops wore masks so they could not be identified. Then we had the local police, and another group of police.

Now, I am from a long-serving military family: dad in WWII, then served in the Army Reserves for 25 years; brother an army officer before serving in the Foreign Service; husband an officer in the Army during Vietnam. So I am ok with the need for a country to exhibit its willingness and ability to defend its shores.

And, geez louise, Mexico has had a long history of being invaded by foreign countries: Spain for 300 years, then soon thereafter the US (hey, how do you think the US got California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas?) and France.

Not only have they fought foreigners, but they have had civil wars: the Reforma in the mid 19th century and then the Revolution beginning in 1910. And, Mexico is at war again, the narco wars. Oh phew, this country needs so much love!

So, the military set the tone for the rest of the marching field: drum and bugle corps from almost every school in San Miguel, from primary to secondary to college. All of course in their school uniforms. And the big finish were the mounted regiments: Dragones de la Reina, Ignacio Allende’s honored regiment dressed in 18th century uniforms, and the present day Heroic Colegio Militar (Military College, I am guessing like West Point).

These guys were pretty impressive and garnered the most applause of the day. About 50 troops in ceremonial uniforms, up on big matched Bay thoroughbreds. BTW, usually you see in Mexico the smaller, quicker quarterhorses, so these horses were special. Not only that, on each of their croups (hind end), the horse hair had been clipped in a harlequin pattern, like a blanket. I have never seen that.

The parade presented the military might of the past (Allende’s compadres, the Dragones) and the present (the military college and the Army). Important, I am sure, to reinforce to the citizenry that Mexico can take care of herself.

But the future in any country relies on the education of its children, no? I love seeing the kids in parades because it is evident there is so much pride in the culture, the heritage, the accomplishments of Mexico. It’s stirring and humbling because it is so present….there is no forgetting why we are where we are and what we are to honor: the values, the tradition, the dignity — and the  patriots who sacrificed everything to make this happen.

And so, what will the children of today be called upon to defend in the future?  The motivation to protect all the good that Mexico represents is being instilled and nurtured right now. I have great expectations for Mexico….

A time to be our better selves

After I had witnessed a disastrous event, I blurted out to a good friend and spiritual thinker, “Why does this crap happen??” And he responded with a sigh, “Because it is part of the human condition…and it is our job as spiritual thinkers to help lift ourselves and others out of the trauma and into a better place, mentally and practically.”

Phew. Big job. But what is the point of prayer if it isn’t helping you be better so that you can help others be better?

In fact, one thing about disasters: they bring people together to become the best of who they are, individually and collectively. Haiti is the present demand for all of us to do what is our best and highest concept of our better selves.

Here’s another thing about disasters: often they bring forgotten or neglected areas/peoples of the world on to the radar screen of those countries/people that are better able to give money, health supplies, organizational expertise. If there are political differences between countries, they are suspended while the people are cared for. And since the effect of huge disasters takes time to overcome and rebuild (infrastructure, buildings, social systems), those offering help are in it for the long haul. It’s a long-term commitment and responsibility. Done right, the poor countries or regions are no longer neglected.

(This is likely the reason why the government of Myanmar would not allow foreign help when the country was devastated by the effects of a huge cyclone in May 2008. While the government maintains its control, the people suffer.)

Ok, so what can I do right now? Prayer is the way I get my head straight so I can know what action to take. Prayer guides me to good action. At this moment, I am affirming that the Haitian people are loved by the divine Spirit — they always have been, no matter what the human condition. They have done nothing that makes them vulnerable to a disaster — they are innocent and only the beneficiary of God’s abundant goodness.

Some may ask, “So where was God when this earthquake struck? If He is all powerful, how could He let this happen?” This is a big big question and the only reasoning that helps me is to accept that in this human experience, crappy things happen all the time. But to overcome them, to lessen their negative effect and be lifted out of the misery, turning toward the allness and goodness of divine Love leads the way upward to a better experience. Mistakes, broken systems, necessary infrastructure — all are repaired beneficially when powerful prayers lead the way.

What happens when a child has a serious accident? Does not his loving parent do everything in their power to comfort them and provide help? If a human parent does this, would not the divine Parent of all of us be willing and capable of doing this …and more?

So, to be my better self is to be vigilant in my prayers for Haiti, joining with thousands who are doing the same, I am sure. I expect that the effect of all these prayers will be to guide those who are providing aid with the best ideas and action plans to practically make a difference for good. I am also sending money…and being poised to hear what next the divine Parent wants me to do to help lift my Haiti family out of this present condition.

New Place, New View

Okay, I am back. No point in describing all that has happened in the past 6 months or so since my last blog…yes, a lot has happened but I also have observed that many casual bloggers (like, non-commercial, blog-to-get-the-thoughts-out-of-my-head types) fade in and out of cyberspace. SOOOO, now I am feeling like getting the thoughts rattling around in my head out of there. For the time being.

We still live in Mexico and still love it. A lot. Even more than when we first arrived, exactly one year ago. But now, instead of living on the beach (west coast), we live in the middle in the mountains, in San Miguel de Allende. This is a 500-year old colonial city with a very rich history and cultural tradition. In fact, it is called El Corazon de Mexico, not only because of its geological location (practically dead-center), but because of its heritage. This region is where the War for Independence — El Grito — was sounded in 1810. Think Paul Revere in Boston, but add in Philadelphia, New York and whoever else had a stake in the American Revolution and you get an idea.

We came here in August just for 3 weeks to go to language school at Warren Hardy. Side-note: this is the BEST school for folks who have been out of the discipline of schoolwork for many years. Mi esposo y yo LOVED it.

OK, 3 weeks turned into  two more months. Why? First off, the weather is incredible — warm most of the year except for January-February when it is cool (hey, we are in the mountains, 5500 feet!). But after we got used to the weather, the appeal is really the people, the diversity of culture, the 500-year architecture and the wealth of heritage and tradition. At one point we looked at each other and said, “this is Mexico!”.

While I love the beach, the water, the sun, this area is incredibly stimulating and rich in learning and activities.

It’s funny, but I had heard about San Miguel for several years and dismissed it as a “gringo hangout”. While there are a lot of norteamericanos (yeah, there is a REASON!), percentage-wise it is a muy pequeno slice of the population. I speak more spanish here than on the coast where, because it is mostly geared to the tourist industry, lots of locals speak english.

After several days we thought, “why dont we spend the winter here and see how we like it?”  Just thinking like that was actually pretty liberating: there was nothing mandating that we be on the coast — we were just renting and all our business activity is on the web. One thing that we were truly going to miss was all our friends on the coast…Sue, Larry, Eddie, Roberto, Ann, Carolyn, Jonathan, Kim, Chris y mas….But then we thought, hey we will just bring them here! They will DEFINITELY want to escape the humid (and I mean HUMID) coast in the summer. Which is 5 months or so.

Turns out it is more than just the winter — we decided to move here

I am not surprised how this worked out….I had been praying very specifically for many months about how to learn spanish more effectively. It seemed to be a struggle, even though I was taking a conversation class 3 days a week in San Pancho. It wasnt just because I wanted to learn another language as a skill — the POINT was/is to be more effective in expressing ideas, more to the point, metaphysical ideas, with local people. It is that important to me.

When we started at our language school, I knew from the first day that this was the right place to learn. And then it has become easier and easier to listen and speak here in San Miguel. It felt to me, then, that being here was an answer to my prayers.

Language school continues — I start the 4th level in February (Subjunctive Verbs, which is 7 tenses — I learned the first 7 tenses through Level 3). and THEN total immersion classes.

Another indication that this is home: a quasi-feral cat adopted us at our rental last fall. Guapo is about two-years old and he is the most loving and expressive cat I have ever had. We brought him to our new casa and he is now an inside cat. Solomente. More on Guapo and our spiritual healing experiences. Right now he is sitting on my desk watching me.

What I love most about Mexico is that it requires me to be very present with God in my consciousness: God as Mind (Wisdom communicating Itself to all), God as Love (unconditional care and guidance), and God as Life (the omni-action of good). Everyday brings physical proof of this spiritual activity.

More to come.