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| Foxy, waiting for Christina to get home from work |
I know that I love my son and daughter-in-law. Often when I am in Mexico, I think about them and their two sweet dogs, Foxy and Oscar. I love them all but I am not actively LOVING them. Loving means to be part of their lives. Sharing their hopes and fears. Doing things for them. Washing their dishes.
Loving a place means to be there and sweep the sidewalk. Loving an animal means to feed it and take it for walks. Unfortunately, being human and so limited, we can only be in one place at a time. We are only capable of having one thought in our minds at a time. The rest is unconscious, like a great ocean, constantly shifting and flowing. Within this ocean, we store our love for all the other people, places, animals and things that are not part of our current realities. That doesn't mean that we don't LOVE them. It just means that we aren't actively LOVING them at the moment.
Loving is sometimes harder than just having love because it means that we have to take part in their good, doing whatever we can to make their lives or the place better. We have to PARTICIPATE. And maybe that is what living is all about, participating. Doing what we can to make this a better world.
That is why I keep on writing this blog, even though I am not currently in Mexico. It is an active loving, keeping it alive. Just as I am now actively loving my son and daughter-in-law. When I get back to Mexico, all these memories of the things we did together will be in my unconscious. Different things will float to the surface from time to time to remind me of this summer. The tragedy of losing my son's father will be softened by the love I shared with my son and daughter-in-law. The active loving that is going on between us now. I am so thankful for this time. But Mexico and my life there, including Chico, are still in my heart, waiting to be renewed.
Thank you. I really enjoyed your heartfelt post
ReplyDeleteThank YOU Nina, It is important to me that you could relate to this blog post.p
DeleteI love this Patricia - you hit the nail on the head about loving being an action. What a perfect reminder! Often we get caught up in being busy instead of being loving, and we can let things slide. I loved when you said loving means taking care of. Yes. Yes indeed.
ReplyDeleteThank you for putting it so eloquently. Another perfect post!
Barbara
Thank you Barbara. I appreciate it so much that you related to this post. Thanks for writing. P
DeleteHi Pat,
ReplyDeleteWonderful post!!
Loving means to me has an many "different shades".
There is love for family, your children, friends and people you touch everyday to make it little more blighter to put smile on their faces.
"Humanity".
I think we all come into this earth for meaning to be alive until we takes our last breath.And I do believe we are here for reason unknown to us. We just have to trust our own instincts and listen to what our inner voices is telling you.
"Let it go" is might key to our happiness.
"Live by moment" is very hard thing to do, oh, boy, I am well of how hard that is but I am trying best my best to live that way....
Love means to me "train of thoughts' manifest it self from two people when "lover" is account.
Take care, Pat.
Yes, I also think "Mexico" is your home.
Home is where your heart is....
Friend from far away.
Thank you My Friend From Far Away for your very interesting comment on this post. Always nice to hear from hear from you. P
DeleteLovely sentiments Pat.
ReplyDeleteP.
Thank you P. P
DeleteMy god woman ... are you the 'expat philosopher' in disguise?! Awesome post; so thought- provoking & so typical of you & your incredible writing style: you seem to write frequently from deep within your soul. Let's get together next week when you return from the coast. Gayle
ReplyDeleteThank you Gayle. Yes, for sure, let's get together. P
DeleteAnother helpful and appreciated post Patricia. I see a lot of value in viewing things this way. My challenge is to keep trying to find opportunities to participate by bringing things to the forefront that inspire loving. To not participate or actively love is to risk withering away. Especially with regard to place - I have to strive for my place (literally and figuartively) in life where I can find comfort and participate much more actively...
ReplyDeleteThank you Stan. It is always appreciated to get feedback that my posts are helpful to others. P
DeleteYou write with beauty and sensitivity. I have been reading your blog to determine if I want to spend next spring and summer in the Lake Chapala area. I appreciate your frank descriptions of life there. I understand your perspective, I also have children I love in the USA, scattered in the Midwest and West. But, I also need my own life, my own friends, my own way of living. I love them, but do not want to make the mistake that many women do of feeling as if my own life is over, and that I must live my life vicariously through them. I have had some strange responses from landlords I have contacted so may end up somewhere else, but just wanted to let you know how helpful your blog has been to my understanding of life in Mexico.
ReplyDeleteThank you. And thank you for writing. I don't know what you mean by "strange responses" but I am guessing it has to do with the extreme competition for housing there in the high season. Landlords don't want to rent for less than six months at a time and many won't take pets. They get very picky at times. Hope you do decide to visit. Let me know if you do. P
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