Ode to a People

hello from my heart to yours...

"Gracias por dejarte conocer... trajistes mucha alegria con tu visita..."  

(Thank you for letting us know you... you brought much happiness with your visit..)        Carlos aka Poco Pelo

Isn't that a beautiful sentiment? One of my mother's friends in Costambar, Dominican Republic, said that to me as I was leaving for the bus.. funny thing is that I was thinking how being with all of them brought me much happiness... but the compliment goes deeper than that really... I cried... I felt so humbled.. I felt a little sad... maybe the meaning gets lost in translation... I don't know.. but it really affected me so... "gracias por dejarte conocer" ... as if people don't let others know them? hmmm.. well... yes... do people just naturally let others know them? not really, huh? I find it hard to comprehend because I am so open .. I wear my heart on my sleeve.. but then again, I am so reserved really and only allow people to know what I want them to know... "a lot" of people know "a little" about me..... what is a constant is though, is that I do try to bring only happiness to each relationship... there's no reason to be an "oh woe is me" kind of person even if my heart is aching.... and that is what I found so fascinating about the people with whom my parents share their lives with in D.R. .. they can all be "llorando la miseria.. (crying poverty...their misery) ... and they don't.. they are the richest people in spirit... they share every little thing they have.. but most of all, they share themselves...

They wake up thankful for the day... the minute the curtains are opened, you hear salutations through the windows... there is a calm feeling in the little breeze that comes through the screen... my dad makes a full pot of coffee and invites the people of the building to come in and share a cup.. they eat some crackers with butter and wait for the electricity to go out for the morning... Carlos is the building caretaker.. a humble servant, who trades his services, to the residents of the 8 apartment building, for a place to sleep.. a 40 square foot utility shed... his only income is cooking lunch at a place behind an abandoned resort that the "owners" made into a bar/restaurant... I say "owners" because these people saw this empty space and simply set up shop... anyway, after he cooks there, he walks through the building asking if anyone needs anything.. he'll walk my cousin's dog, bring some bottled water to the guys upstairs, exchange a few words with my dad and then, he usually naps at the beach on the chairs they rent out only on the weekends... most of the money he makes, he sends to his son who lives 6 driving hours away at a school for the deaf... 

At all times of the day, there is no lack of conversation.. people walk up and down the street to the beach area and look into the apartment and wave.. if my parents want to, they wave them in.. "ven, ven" (come, come) ... if not, they just wave back... nothing is very private really... I would get up, have coffee and then, wash the clothes that we wore the day before by hand (before the electricity went out because then there is no water pressure from the cistern) ... walk up to the rooftop and hang everything on the line... there is a mattress on the rooftop under a small overhang that used to be a bar... Rossi (a guy who works at the port and lives on the 2nd floor) sleeps there a lot... he has a bed in his room, but their apartment doesn't have an inverter generator so he says it's much cooler just to sleep up there... anyway, if there were clothes on the line, I would fold them and just put them on a chair for their rightful owner... from the rooftop, you can see what all the neighbors are doing... and everyone waves happily at one another... 

and the morning continues with a "project" .... there is always a "project" and usually it is very challenging to get anything done for lack of... you don't just go to home depot and buy everything and more than you need.. my mother and I spent one morning trying to fix the freezer door... we ended up using some wire to hold it shut.. we made a little hook to connect the sides and she is the only one that knows how to open it... another day, I spent trying to connect her to the world... there is internet there, but no home phones.. thank goodness for MagicJack.. and it is magical IF you can get it to work... it did work sometimes and my dad was ecstatic... we painted the pool area and the little pump house... I fixed the bed frame... we unclogged the outdoor shower pipes... and we sat around talking about all the things that needed to be done, but probably wouldn't be... 

Close to lunchtime, I would take a walk to the little store... buy a large Bohemia beer and a strawberry drink for Giorgio... and people would ask, "tu eres la hija de Dona Maria..la de los caballos, verdad?" (you are daughter of Maria..the one with the horses, right?) ... yep, that would be me... you would think I was 17 years old or something the way they would say it... but they were happy to know that Dona Maria had family visiting... and not that it is surprising to me, but my parents are very loved by the people in their little town... one of the days I was there, my dad became dehydrated.. he is 84 yrs old and well, doesn't really follow anyone's advice... thankfully my uncle lives in Costambar, also, and took him to the clinic in the other town... I stayed behind painting, after all, they were just going for a quick "rehydration"... I was left without a phone and my only charge was to make sure Rossi called the electrician the minute the electricity came back on so that he could fix the wall A/C... well, it was as if the radio had broadcast the news of my dad going to the clinic.. everyone kept walking over to ask how Don Pablo was.. and if I needed anything... they probably thought I was the most insensitive daughter on earth as I leisurely painted the blocks saying. "I suppose he's alright.. I don't have a phone...but if it were grave, my uncle would've come back for me..thanks for asking though..." .. oh the blank looks... but regardless of what they thought of me.. their gestures of love gave me great comfort... they felt like family...

Probably the best part of being there was Willy coming to get Giorgio every day to ride horses.. Willy has grown up with my mother and her horses.. I think he was 11 years old when he became "the horse whisperer" (as Giovanni & Giancarlo would call him..) he is 21 now... but, not really.. there is no diagnosis.. he is smart.. he is sweet.. he is bratty.. he goes out and he "courts" girls in their patios.. so respectful and loving... and he handles the horses so naturally... I see the potential in him... everyone sees the potential in him... but, he doesn't.... now that my mother is there more permanently though, I think she will teach him to see it... she's good at that.... anyway, the freedom my child felt riding on the beach and then a mountain and then the beach again was spectacular... he'd say, "this must be what heaven's like" ... sure, we were on vacation.. but the people we were with daily, were not on vacation.. this is how they live... free... they work a little, nap a little, play a little, talk a little... no wait, they talk A LOT... but its nice.. really nice... and they LET you know them...

So, I say to them... "Gracias por dejarte conocer.."  now that I know these people.. these God-filled, faithful, hopeful and loving people.. I have a totally different view of what is important in life... (not that I didn't already know..) ... but they confirm it... I could go on and on about them individually, Carlos, Rossi & Willy (the ones closest to my parents) ... each one's life told to me as we sat smoking cigars with my dad on the patio.. but told to me with happiness and pride.. all that they do, they do for their families... they do for the people that they love... and they love so easily...  I will carry all that they taught me in my heart always because..  "me trajeron mucha alegria con mi visita" ...

With every encounter that you have in your life.. with every person you meet... and with every person you already know... may you always bring them happiness.. may you let people know you.. shine your heart-light... spread love... through your words and actions, let people know that they are loved beyond measure and cherished blessings to the world ... be the blessed person God intends for you to be... 

May you be blessed and may others be blessed by you... this is my heartfelt wish for you today.... 

With love,

Elena

Beginning

Hello from my heart to yours....

"The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings."  

                                                      David Weinbaum, the new voice of a conservative America 

Well... here we go again with the first days of school.... some of us comforting our children... some of us thanking God that summer is over... some of us worrying.. some of us celebrating... I think I did a little of each yesterday... having just returned from the Dominican Republic, I was definitely comforting Giorgio as he didn't even want to hear the word "school" .. he was angry that summer was over.. and as if it were my fault completely, I was called the "meanest" mama in the world at least 17 times... so I found myself  thanking God that summer is over.... I left him slouched down in the chair and I began to worry a little.. and then, as I walked back home thinking of how much work I was going to be able to do with him in school again.. well... I was celebrating.... lol... 

Our lives seem to follow a calendar of "beginning" again with every new school year (whether we have children or not) ... everything seems to take on a different motion.. a different vibration... vacations are over .. the laziness of long summer days are gone.. the traffic patterns change..  work schedules change .. etc... it seems like the perfect time to seize every opportunity as new ideas and inspirations come our way so that we can prepare to harvest all those glorious things in the Autumn... we should be gentle with ourselves though... think of how the children are starting a whole new year of their lives and remember back to when you were in school... the feelings of happiness and excitement, apprehension and fear... fortunately, everyone was having similar feelings and old friends helped us through and new friends helped us through and we survived... most of us look back at our school days with great fondness.. "beginning" again was effortless really... it was life in motion.. it should always be so effortless... .

We all know the there is an intense energy when we are beginning something new... I remember when I was a teacher, how exciting it was to prepare the classroom for the first day... how I wanted everything to be just perfect and inviting and peaceful for when the students walked in... and I remember the expressions on the little people's faces.. some would come in and hug you as if you were their only teacher ever.. and others would do as my own child did.. a half-wave of the hand and feet dragging all the way to the desk and plop down... I remember now as I am writing this that when I was teaching, every day was like a new beginning... oh those 21+ personalities a teacher has to work with daily... hmmmmm....(come back, Dory)... topic of another blessing ....let me wrap this one up.....

The energy of beginning something new.. (that's where I was)......... absorb this energy and send it forth to others.... be a joyous one...  offer love from this space of joy....  inspire those around you...  give them the deep and lasting spiritual tools to help them.. .  gifts such as these are from God and they are given to us to share....   In God's world there is enough love, enough money, enough joy for all...  God asks you to give out of the fullness of your being....  God loves you...  do not be afraid of "beginning" anything... embrace every challenge with love, hope and faith... every "beginning" gets you closer to becoming the blessed person God intends you to be.. honor the light within you and share it with others so they are not afraid of "beginning" either... 

Use the beginning of the school year as an excuse, if you will, to make it a grand and glorious time - a time of opportunity, growth, and greater ability to exist in the truth of God's love... with each "beginning", your life will become richer ...

 

and for the teachers and children... I offer this prayer today:

 

Infinite Spirit of God, open the hearts and minds of the teachers..that they may see our children as individuals .. each unique and beautiful children of God..... that they demonstrate faith, hope and love in the children's ability to learn ... give them patience and understanding... help them to always feel the excitement of these "beginning" school days throughout the whole year.... open the hearts and minds and ears of the children... so that they feel the love and openly receive all the wonderful things that their teachers will be teaching them... give them patience and understanding with one another.. help them to embrace every school day with hope and joy  ... thank You, God, for blessing this "beginning" of a new adventure in teaching and in learning... Amen.

 

May your day be blessed with all things good,

With love,

Elena

p.s. when I picked Giorgio up he said, "Mama, it was the best day ever!!!... well, except for Spanish class...lol" ... (I think he was a little happier to return this morning..)  :-)

All Kinds of Love

Hello from my heart to yours...

"There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same love twice." 
                                                                                            F. Scott Fitzgerald

... and isn't that the most fabulous thing you've ever read? I just found it on a "post-it" note while cleaning out my car... One of my childhood friends posted that quote a while back and I simply fell in love with it so I jotted it down... he was never really my "friend" growing up.. so shy, beautiful, sweet, and too nice of a boy to hang out with..lol... but he'll text me now (35 years after we first met) and say, "just checking in on you, mon ami..hope all is well" and it sure does make my heart smile...

Anyway, at first read, the quote probably provokes feelings of romantic love for most of us... but it goes so much deeper than that... since today is my first born son's birthday, my thoughts went more to the love I have for my children.. it's been 3 years since Giovanni left to live with his father and study abroad.. I wrote a blessing for him when he left using the quote, "If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.  ~David Carradine, American Actor.. best known for "Kung Fu" ... and I can tell you that back then, I thought he was only the poem.. today, at 17.. he is a poet as well... when I wrote to tell him that I was going to send money weekly for his birthday because I can't afford to send it all at once..he replied, "whatever you can Mama.. I know you would give me the world since you gave me life.." ooooh..just about melted my heart... 

Having grown up in a large family, there were always matters of who was my mother's "favorite" ... we'd go on and on about that (and sometimes still do..lol.).. my mother would always say that we'd realize there are no favorites once we had children of our own.. and she was so right... all my boys think they are my "favorite".. I love them differently in all kinds of ways.. some people say that I love Giovanni the most because of the delicate way he came into the world at 29 weeks and weighing only 864 grams... but I just respond.. "no.. I have just loved him the longest.." ... and then, other people say I love Giancarlo the most because he is so free and spiritual and the most like me in his hippie ways... but I just say, "no.. but he might love me the most" ... and then, other people say I love Giorgio the most.. so full of life.. an old soul with such thought-provoking conversation..and so incredibly hilarious as he lives in the spectrum... but I just say, "no, I just like to travel the rainbow with him.." .... they are all soooooo different.. and because of this, each love me differently.. one thing most people agree on is that all my boys are madly in love with me...lol... and why not? I am, after all,  the first woman they have ever loved... anyway... you see? "there is never the same love twice..." 

Those of you that have been with me for the last 6 years know how in love with loving I am... how I so desire to love everyone in my life..whether family, friend, co-worker or a person I have only exchanged emails with on this blessing list... everyone has the ability to touch my heart and what I strive for is to touch theirs in some little way as well... of course, I believe that first and foremost, I have to love God.. I believe He is the ultimate source of LOVE.. He is LOVE... then, I have to love myself so that, in turn, I can love others...  Love is all there is really.. it's the foundation we build upon in order to live our lives as the blessed people God intends us to be.. with LOVE at the base of our lives, there is no other way we can go but up, up, up to the highest place of love...heaven...

Alright then... tangent, tangent, tangent... so, I leave you with this prayer affirmation:

"I am blessed. I am a blessing to others. I am love. I love all of my brothers and sisters in all kinds of ways because there is never the same love twice. I am an example of LOVE for all the world to witness. Please use ME, God, as a beacon of LOVE and LIGHT so that this prayer be my truth always. Amen"

.. LOVE and be LOVED in return... you are a blessing to the world,
I love you,
Elena