Saturday, Nov 5, 2016
I woke up to grey skies. Huh. I just can’t seem to find the sunshine. It wasn’t too long after I was up before the rain started. It has been starting and stopping all day long. When it starts, it downpours for five or ten minutes at a time.
My plan was to go into El Centro today and enjoy the festivities of the last two days of the holiday. This is not happening. I’ve spent most of the day catching up on posting my blog entries from the coast, so at least that has been productive.
Miriam
Aurobindo’s wife is in town. He has been here about as long as we have but his wife stayed in the states. Her family lives in Venezuela and with all the political and social chaos there right now, the people cannot get enough food. Miriam, Auro’s wife, sends food to her mother twice a month and she wouldn’t be able to do that from Ecuador.
They are going to the coast tomorrow and will be there until Miriam flies back to Oklahoma. Tonight we are meeting them both for dinner. This will be the first time we get to meet Auro’s wife.
We met Auro and Miriam at Taj Mahal, but at the restaurant on Remigio Crespo, not the one in El Centro. Miriam is a fun, laughter filled woman. Her excitement as she engages with you in conversation is contagious. I definitely like her.
Our dinner was good. My food was the last plate to come from the kitchen and everyone was nearly finished eating by that point. It didn’t matter too much because we were having fun talking about travel in other countries, where to go on the coast, pros and cons of living here or there, and in general just getting to know each other better.
Dinner at Taj Mahal
While we were waiting to pay our bill I received a phone call from our landlord. I guess a pipe broke somewhere between our 3rd floor and their 2nd floor. They haven’t been home for the last few days. Long story short, the water needs to be turned off in the building until they can get someone to fix it.
When we got home, Pedro (their son who speaks English) came up and told us what is going on. They are going to try to get it fixed tomorrow but since it is Sunday that probably won’t happen. We agreed to turn the water back on long enough to fill up buckets so we could flush the toilets.
On our way home we had stopped at a Tienda and bought several large jugs of water for us to drink and use for cooking. I am prepared. Even in the midst of adversity I will still have coffee in the morning. 😉
I feel like my rhythm is off, like I’m a half-phase out of sync with the energy flow of life. While we were at the coast it was cool and cloudy. During the same time in Cuenca it was hot and sunny. We came back early from the coast just so we could see some of the festivities here, and today it rained all day long. Now we have no water for a day or two.
Some rain and no running water is not a big deal in the overall scheme of life. This is just the creation of a moment that allows me to pause and wonder about decisions; what happens and doesn’t happen as a result of making one decision vs another.
For me it comes down to two things: attachment and expectations. I believe these two things are what cause us suffering. We all have to make a hundred decisions a day. Some are trivial in consequence and others have major impacts to our quality of life. I think all of us try to make the best decisions we can. Some work out great, and some not so much.
If I can manage my level of attachment and expectation to any particular outcome, then I can better manage my level of happiness. This isn’t to say that I don’t want certain things to happen, because I do. That is why I make the decisions I do.
In the event the results of my decisions don’t play out how I planned, there is a whole other level of freedom found in letting go and choosing not to be attached to whatever outcome I was wanting. There is nothing wrong “sitting with” what is present from a decision to see what it has to offer. Maybe something is there I can use, and maybe there isn’t.
What is important is recognizing I can choose again. I can make another decision to create something I would like. This decision may take me along the same path, or it may change my course completely. If I choose to be in curiosity about where my decisions may lead, instead of remain attached to an expected outcome, I truly am free to experience life and receive good things I may not have even considered.
I came back to Cuenca early to experience the festivities of the holiday and that didn’t happen today. What did happen was spending a couple of hours with Auro and his wife Miriam where I got to laugh a lot and feel joy. If I wouldn’t have come back when I did I would not have been able to meet Miriam. I would be willing to bet I got more from our time tonight at dinner than I would have got from watching a parade in El Centro.
It all works out…if I let it.
Chau.
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