Nicaragua Archives | Page 2 of 5

Lovely Limones

I woke with a touch of gripe early this morning. I used to translate gripe (pronounced grip – ay) as flu, which is the official Google Translate definition, but it is actually more used to define any cold-like symptoms. So I woke feeling a little under the weather with a runny nose that didn’t improve much even after a small wake up sequence and meditation. I’ve been reading news stories about the strong breed of flu being passed around the US this year, and I’m grateful that this is the closest I’ve come to it. Continue reading “Lovely Limones”

Vignettes

Dodge Ball

Children gather into groupings like pool balls on a billiards table. One child stands on either end and tosses the rubber ball as the kids in the middle scatter and run. The smaller ones inevitably get pegged first, to shouts of “uno, dos, tres, cuatro.” After four hits they come to lean against the tall stone wall leading up to the raised sidewalk. One niño is more ambitious than the other children, jumping higher and running faster to dodge the ball and then angrily cursing, “miedra, miedra!” when he’s the second-to-last one out. Continue reading “Vignettes”

Family Living

I’ve recently moved in with a new family, a special way to spend my final month in Nicaragua. I’m enjoying getting to know the generations of family who share the home. The strength of familial relationships is, for me, one of the most appealing things about Latin culture. In my new home reside: grandma and grandpa, two sons – one of whom also lives with his pregnant wife and three children, and one daughter with her husband and young daughter. Visiting daily are other members of the family who live on the same street or close by. El abuelo, the grandpa, is an accomplished poet who shared some of his writing with me this morning. Continue reading “Family Living”

Crossroads

To what do you dedicate a life? What do these two hands do each day? Where do these two feet walk? I find these thoughts spinning through my head as I walk these streets that now seem empty.

I feel as though I’ve been overstaying my welcome for years now. I look back, and there’s so many gaps like this in between the moments that cause my soul to resonate. Continue reading “Crossroads”

Enter the Elephant

I am really pleased to note that my post on Santosha has been re-published on elephant journal. Go check it out, and then read some of the other fabulous writing available there.

Bodywork

Since I last wrote, I’ve been gifted with two amazing body work sessions. One, a reiki session with the most powerful energy worker I’ve ever met. Another, reflexology with a fabulous blind masseuse at the Hotel. I strongly believe that regular bodywork is a vital part of any wellness routine. It compliments a good yoga practice, and helps us release emotions that are seeking to store deep within our bodies in the form of energy blocks, tight muscles, and even illness. It’s especially important during times of transition.

Continue reading “Bodywork”

Sacred in the Mundane

–Counting–

Counting cordobas is a practice in staying present. A practice I sometimes find more difficult than my meditation practice some days. The thing about cordobas is they value 24 to the dollar, so you very quickly reach large amounts of money that you are regularly counting.

I can’t count quickly and accurately in Spanish, at least not up to high numbers. Perhaps someday. Let’s be real, I often don’t count quickly or accurately in English, either. I get distracted so easily during this task! Thoughts will intrude mid-count, or my ears will latch onto snatches of conversation occurring around me. Conversations in Spanish become harder to ignore the higher my comprehension level rises.

So I count and I practice. Each day at the start and end of my shift, I count and recount the cordobas. I train my mind to stay present on the number – in English, in Spanish, in the moment.

–Dog Walking— Continue reading “Sacred in the Mundane”

Folding In

Taoism states that we can only know a thing by knowing and understanding its opposite. For example, how can we know light if we’ve never been engulfed in darkness? How can we know happiness if we’ve never plumbed the depths of sadness? Each is just one side of a coin, with oneness being the reality and dualism the illusion.

Another way we can know a thing is by its absence. As Nataraja dances the world into existence, feet rise and fall, hips undulate, and we come in and out of being as we watch. Each time a toe rises, happiness is there or it isn’t. A hand waves down dancing to the universal rhythm, and a wish is granted.

Continue reading “Folding In”

People Pleasing

I’ve had cause to disappoint some people this week. This brings feelings of stress and tightness in my heart center, as I always want everybody to be happy in general, and especially not to associate disappointment or bad feelings with me. There are a few good lessons to be learned from these situations.

One is that we are never ever responsible for anybody else’s feelings. This is easy to say, but more difficult to remember when we are wrapped up in the moment. It’s worth bearing in mind, though. We are each our own little universe of experience, emotions, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and memories. That said, when one person has a reaction to another’s words or actions, there is no way to tell as an outside observer what was the root cause. Continue reading “People Pleasing”

Feliz Navidad

I’ve decided to rename Nicaragua from the land of lakes and volcanoes to the land of bombas and tubas. The month of December has been a celebration of Purisima, the miracle of the Virgin birth, and has consisted of late night parades, juegos artificiales – firecrackers large and small, and music of all kinds.

The parades, which sometimes start at three or four am, are both in celebration of the Virgin Mary and to scare off bad spirits hiding on street corners. They often included bombas, loud explosions, as well as various sound-making instruments from tubas, conch shells, animal horns or drums.

Christmas is celebrated here primarily on Christmas Eve with time spent with families and gathered in the streets. As the sun set last night, there were large groups outside almost every door in town. Older folks sat in folding chairs and the children ran circles setting off small firecrackers and dancing with sparklers. Continue reading “Feliz Navidad”