Well my three months in Agentina have flown by...sort of. But it kind of felt like I have been here for years. So maybe time passed at just the right speed. It´ll probably take a lifetime to process it all. I saw so much. I met so many people. And I made some epic realizations. It has really begun to click that we--you, me, our country, our world--are in a dire situation. I don´t know how to respond to the situation, or what I can do to better our situation. But I have realized that the answers to our collective problems lie in our willingness to scale back our lifestyles, to give up some of our seemingly god-given personal independence, and to live in community with others. On a more personal note, I´ve learned that I am happiest when I am part of a community, when I am participating in a sustainable and deeply personal relationship with the world, and when I am living a lifestyle that brings peace, comfort, and tranquility to my mind and my body.
So now what? I still have three months left, and there is much more to learn and much more to see. I am not done with my journey. But the person who begins her journey in Chile today is not the same person who began her journey in Argentina three months ago. The big goals are still the same: work with my hands, practice my spanish, and strengthen my character and worldview. But these general goals have now been refined.
I want to maintain that level of happiness I felt at Huerta de Vida where I was in love with the land and grateful for what it gave us, where I was in love with my body and grateful for its ability to work so hard, where I was in love with those around me and grateful for their willingness and desire to accept me for who I am. If I can learn to carry this degree of confidence and peacefulness with me, my life will be more complete than I could ever imagine.
I want to keep seeing and experiencing the world´s beautiful places without becoming numb to my surroundings. Even though such a continuous stream of unspeakable beauty can often blend together, I know and appreciate that each and every thing is uniquely beautiful.
I want to keep learning and understanding other realities. I have come to discover some very convincing versions of reality, so convincing that they could cause me to discredit any one else´s view. But just as science cannot explain everything, one version of reality should not discredit the validity of other worldviews and priorities.
I want to keep searching for community. The more I experience different forms and degrees of community here, the better I will understand what I am hoping to find and build in my own life.
I want to continue to seriously consider my future in the United States, but I don´t want this concern to overpower my current experiences. Everything will come together. But I am here now, and here and now is the only place and time that will uncover what makes me spark. Then when I return to the States, that spark can spread.
I want to continue to be spontaneous. When I have dropped my personal agenda and opened my eyes and my heart to new people and new experiences, powerful things have happened. Now is the time to walk through doors whenever they open.
I want to find a running, stretching, and strengthening routine that does not drain me of physical or mental energy but rather provides me with the endurance and peacefulness I need to be effective and sustainable.
I want to view Chile as its own entity, rather than constantly compare it to Argentina. Yet, I want to reflect on the differences and similarities between the two in order to develop theories as to why these countries are the way that they are.
I want to maintain a high energy level throughout the next three months. I must take advantage of my time here. Traveling is not a waste of time, and I must continue to see and learn all that I possibly can.
I want to regain that sense of hope that I once had. Right now, I feel as though there is no resolution to our current world situation. This gloom and doom mentality is slowly sucking the light out of me, and I need to stop this before it is too late. I want to rediscover that spark, that sense of hope, that contagious optimism. Without it, I am nothing and I can do nothing.
So it is going to be a busy few months. Stay with me.
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