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Christmas The first procession of Christmas went by tonight at 7:45 pm, God I love Christmas in La Manzanilla. It is miles from what I grew up with. Back to basics, back to value, back to the original meaning. I lived up on the mountain for 7 years, then because they paved the road I moved down next to the office on the beach. I remember hearing stories of what the locals thought of us Gringos moving up on the mountain. They asked why? We said it was for the view of the ocean. They looked and said, "there is the ocean" They could not understand why we would move away from town, isolated from the sprit and companionship of neighbors. Why would we work so hard to get electricity and water? Why would we live in a place so isolated, a place so hard for people to visit? Now, living here in town I wake in the morning, I open the door and say hi to the people of my neighborhood, of La Manzanilla. I feel the vibe of the town, I feel the life of the people, I feel the ocean, the fisherman doing their thing out the back door, the town awakening out the front door. Even now as the first procession of Christmas passes unannounced (to me) I realize that I still don't get it. The family, the simplicity, the depth of life. They show it to me daily, I only get part of it. I see the changes coming, the paved road, some people angry about dog shit on the beach and a myriad of other "issues". I seriously doubt that the people of La Manz ever had an issue about such trivial matters. It is twice removed from what is important. This Christmas I do have a wish. I hope I finally start to get it. To really open up to the message the people of La Manzanilla are giving me daily. I hope I am able to get the program I was handed as a child and reinforced throughout my life, out of my list of priorities. That is what I would like, not only for Christmas but for every day of the New Year. I would like every day of 2009 to be the same. Live and learn. I should probably wait until morning, till I have the chance to re read this before posting it to the message board. But I won’t, because if I do I may not post it. Size the moment and damn the torpedoes. D |
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