to my family and relations

Dear relatives and relations, my heart,

The question of where…

Where in the process to enlightenment?

 Peace and joy inside and out, so easy when things are going well. Things go remarkably well when you’re at peace. Peace without action is superficial, still...look! there goes a perfect stranger, perhaps i can do something to make their life better. (Those closest to me, Jessie and my mum, have waited, are still waiting. though). Action without peace??? Having experienced leukemia and chemotherapy and, more importantly, having come out stronger on the other side inspires faith in Ometeotl and the deep well of strength and resilience that is there for all of us. I realize we can’t all recognize it at all times. Since the Sundance I went to in April ’11, I have taken on the process of healing as my purpose. Believing I can heal and be healed was very hard for much of 2011. Ometeotl has shown, is showing me, time and again, the amazing possibilities. Being back in the South brings a deep feeling of home… there are no bad days, just good days and better ones :) "Peace is every step" I heard once, resonates.

I miss the sweat-lodge and the ways of the Red Road of the North. I know that by staying here long enough I will discover places and traditions that one could miss on a short visit…much like walking in a land instead of driving through it. There are places where spirituality is closer to the surface, which makes them a magnet, such as Cuzco, but my mum doesn’t want to go there. I pray, in my own way, every day and wish I could pray together with others. I feel a strong connection with you and all my family and relations that’s outside time and space, yet know how amazing it feels to pray together <3 font="">

 Another place is Lake Titicaca. I spent a couple of nights on full moon in November on the island of Amantani. It’s a magical place, I could really see myself staying there for ages but then what would I do there? I’m resigned to teaching English while in Peru, though I will continue to search for interpreting possibilities – my dream job would be with an NGO working in poor, rural areas…when I learn Quechua and add that to my CV…the 3 language combination could be the key. Having said that, I am enjoying teaching, started 3 weeks ago at an academy 5 minutes from the apartment we’re renting…first job in over 3 years…rusty, having a great laugh, just hope that the youths who call me "Profe" are getting as much out of the lessons as i am.

We chose Arequipa and we’re sticking to that decision. It’s so arid here, 2300m up on the western side of the Andes, only 100kms or so from the ocean (ridden my bike there 3 times this month, last time in a race, that I won!). nothing much grows except where there’s springs or melt water from the nearby 5000m+ peaks. i’ve hooked up with some local cyclists who’ve shown me some lovely spots, mind. One really stands out, and I’m sure it’s just a portal…Chiguata, the first town of a valley that starts at over 3000m and winds between two volcanoes and GREEN, verdancy so stunning against the burned brown of the high pampa. [The eastern side of the Andes is so much greener, as you know, you follow the melt water over there and you’ll get engulfed by rainforest-dreamy]. I’ve only ridden my road bike to Chiguata, I plan to go there on my mountain bike and go higher up the volcanoes, it’s fantastic, Inca terraces, farm animals and hawks and gurgling water and a step back in time, it only takes me about one and a half hours to get from home to the end of the paved road, the sleepy village plaza (ALL uphill!), and a little over half an hour to get back to the mayhem.

Finding a house that can be adapted into 2 apartments has been challenging, and the continual rise in property prices very disheartening. We dreamt of having a piece of land but that’s out of the question. Sadly, the quaint character of this town is transforming into something much harder-edged, there’s some important new mining developments in them there hills which are boosting the local economy as well as stimulating rampant, unplanned “precarious” housing development and other ills. We’d be lucky if we find a property with a tiny garden…we may well have found it last Friday, fingers crossed, we’re returning there with an architect tomorrow. We might then be able to grow some herbs, and try planting some of the seeds we brought. And have a dog. My experience with the housing market crash in MN (the whole US) has left me rather wary…but making decisions based on fear can never be right. "

And you?
 Blessings to you all

Ometeotl,

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we but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents

emerson