Fluctuations and Time Sense

The other day I was talking with a man about renting his casita. He asked me if I wanted it long term. I asked, What is long term in your book? He said, one year. I laughed. Can you imagine trying to negotiate a lease in the States and the landlord telling you that he only rents it long term, one year?

A sense of time is very different here than in the States. Everything here is in constant fluctuation. Friendships quickly form and within months they disappear as people return to their other homes north. I have written about this before in previous posts. Every few months here the entire feeling of the area changes. I lived in a beach town for many years; Santa Cruz, Ca. so this way of life isn't new to me. The town cleared out in the wintertime. Here, the town clears out in the summer. But the feeling is the same. Change. One must embrace change to live here. It is essential to enjoy the friends on a daily basis and be willing to say good bye when they leave. Then the dance begins again with a whole new set of friends. The old ones may return in a few months. Or you may never see them again.

I remember when I left here many months ago. I felt such a sense of sadness to be returning to the States. I also didn't like listening to my friends here planning their futures together when I was having to leave. How dare their lives go on without me. Childish but I am willing to admit to selfish and childish thinking. But when I returned I was again welcomed into a circle of friends. It is like taking a hand out of water and then putting it back in again. The water adjusts. I find that most people here are very accepting and open minded. They will go out of the way to welcome new people in town and into their hearts. We are all outsiders here. We need each other. I try to be accepting and appreciative of everyone. When I find myself being judgmental I want to slap myself because we all are precious. We all have a light and a dark side. I want to focus on the light in people and not the dark. It is what I want from them too. I don't need my dark side to be pointed out to me. I am all too well aware of my shortcomings. This is a good place for self discovery.