We have spent 2 weeks at the hotel Las Mariposas in Oaxaca Mexico. Tonight is our last night. Tomorrow we will be in our new home. There is a sense of excitement, and a sense of sadness as we pack to leave. On the journey we have undertaken excitement consistently awaits us. To breed excitement, there are so many things with which we lack familiarity. Sadness, too, can be a built-in emotion with moving on. I saw a quote, from a Taiwanese Buddhist monk Sheng Yen, courtesy of Timothy Ferris, yesterday that feels appropriate for now; a rubric for non-attachment to the excitement and sadness.
“Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you.”
Two weeks ago we left our small community in San Miguel de Allende, and of course we miss their friendship and guidance. Leaving Las Mariposas is different. The camaraderie of the people who stay here is astonishing to me. There are a couple factors involved with that. A lot of the residents in the 20 room space spend a significant portion of every winter here, so a consistent sense of community exists as the winter holiday season arrives. Some have been coming for 25 years, others only a few years, but they all spend time at the communal courtyard tables in the morning and in the evening. They all share knowledge of where to go and what to do. They are friends!
Most of us are older, 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s; so right off the bat we have that in common. Just about everyone is still active, getting out daily, and usually walking. It has been incredibly easy to get to know theses people, where they are from, what they have done in life, what they are passionate about. I have learned where to go for great holistic body work and for a fantastic one on one Spanish teacher. Also, food recommendations galore. These people are our friends.
I have never been part of an intentional community/commune, but this feels close to what that would feel like. Here, some of the traditional difficulties of communal living are avoided. There is no division of duties, because staff does it all; nor food likes and dislikes to foment strife in the community because meals are not communal. If someone wants to be alone there is no pressure to be involved with others. Basically, the fellowship aspects of communal living are available, but without the obligations. It has made it easy to make friends, and sad for us to leave. I guess I am overstating this, because many people here have urged us to return for visits, games, wine, whatever. Still, as we step into the next phase of our adventure we prepare to lose a part of our life as we have come to know it in the past two weeks.
Last night we had an experience that was reminiscent of home. We went to Vino and Vinyl. Some of you may have been to Stylus in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. If so, you would be familiar to the format of Vino and Vinyl; wine, records and tapas. We are big fans of Stylus and were surprised to find an equivalent in Oaxaca. We had a very good bottle of wine, pictured below, complimentary appetizers and listened to some music. Additionally, as we sat in the back by the records a gentleman walked back, straight to a Joy Division album and picked it up. Perhaps that might mean nothing or very little to a lot of you, But there was a time in the late 70’s when Joy Division rescued the music scene for me. I commented to the man who picked up the album and he happened to be from England North near from where Joy Division hailed. We had quite a discussion of our similar progression of musical tastes up until the turn of the century.
This morning we went to a coffee shop. That was mainly notable for the sign above the inside of the door.
That translates to, “Now that we are here let’s dance!” In smaller hard to read letters below it says, “But first coffee”. A nice sentiment that fits the jovial, friendly attitude on the streets and in the plazas that is often punctuated by large brass bands, dancers and singing.
I leave you with some pictures of old rock hewn churches built with exquisite detail.
Discover more from Chiropractic Life Center
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Love the quote you shared. Enjoying all the stories you are sharing!!!
Thank you Molly, appreciate the feedback and hang in there with yourself. Just keep growing up cause it may never end I’m thinking.
A special place in your heart is the adventure you are undertaking every day, follow the stream as it meanders along explore every crack, every coffee shop, every plaza, every path that leads to fun, and more adventures
Enjoy each moment, with joy.
Thanks for your many wonderful comments. You are on the right track, I believe. The more we endeavor to create joy, not just for ourselves, but for others the more we get to enjoy.
Thanks for the description of the hotel as what you think an intentional community could feel like. Life there certainly sounds ideal (although I prefer communal vegan meals, I am not picky) I am actually looking for place to retire near Oaxaca and was hoping there was an active intentional community nearby when I stumbled upon your post. If you have come across any while you’ve been there I would love to hear about them. I usually stay with friends in San Sebastian Abasola. ❤️
Thank you for your reply. In describing Las Mariposas I was only commenting on aspects that felt similar to what an intentional community could provide. It certainly would have a ways to go to be an intentional community. Unfortunately, I know of nothing in the area that would approximate an intentional community. Good luck in your search. We have other friends who would like to begin/found an intentional community. Never gets off the ground, however, likely speaking to the many complexities of developing, building and holding together intentional communities.