November 20 2023
Traveling solo gives a constant stream of ups and downs, so if my account seems overly rosy its because I’ve decided to write about the former rather than the latter.
Teaching the young adults in the small town was very rewarding. I put myself out there, traveling every day on the bus, and teaching English to whoever showed up. The attendance was wildly variable. It gave me so much insight into their world and the hopes and challenges they are facing every day. In the Bhagavad Gita it is stressed that in life you have the right to act and take responsibility for your actions, but you have no automatic right for particular fruits of your actions. This applies SO much to teaching. As Marc Anthony said of Caesar (according to the Bard) ‘The evil that men do lives after them, yet the good is oft interred with their bones.’ I find I’m OK with that.
I went to the beach for a week of sun and waves. It was so hot…lots of young bodies partying, sun-tanning, volleyball and surfing. The food was delicious, especially the freshly caught fish. We took a boat ride on the river to watch the pelicans nesting in the mangroves and a radiant sunset over the ocean. So peaceful.
I met a dizzying array of wonderful new friends from a wide variety of countries. There are so many ways to kiss the earth.
Back in Antigua, I love to visit the tomb of Hermano Pedro. Just standing by it brings a deep feeling of peace as of a vast spaciousness beyond any rational thought. There were a few people praying. I closed my eyes and sat for awhile just sinking into the feeling. After some time I thought I should leave and make more space for others so I opened my eyes. All around me were small Guatemalan women praying before the tomb. They were in front of me and beside me, very close. And yet I had not heard or felt anything of their arrival. They all wore the traditional colourful garments of the local indigenous people. They had arrived with such respect, so quietly and with such humility. No matter that their ideas about the religion and the tomb might be different from mine; its not important. What was important was how we were all in the same place for the same experience, silent and still. With great care and attention, I made my exit.
Tomorrow, if all goes well, I will be in Bogota.
Simonsblog 