outdoor time, nature walks and lunch in the park

i thrive when i am outside and in touch with nature. after living outdoors for 3 semesters, i saw how important it is for me to keep that connection alive. being outside and my vitality and happiness are directly interconnected. transitioning back to urban living, i am trying to spend as much time outdoors as possible. i think it is time for a backpacking trip very very soon, even if it's a short one, i am looking forward to the next time i get to sleep outside and look at the starts without the city lights. since being back  in florida, about a month now, outdoor time has been good. i also want to go see all the flowers now that spring has come!

wild orange tree nearby, which means now i have a place to go to harvest oranges. this reminds me of hank

rosary pea plant. the seeds have the toxin abrin, one of the deadliest plant toxins, so much that if you consume one tiny seed, it can kill you. this plant is a category 1 invasive exotic, i have seen it in many many places in broward county.

pickerelweed

              lunch

nutrition and organic food

this week, the kids learned about nutrition and organic gardening and food. i personally think that this is such an important topic. the oneness of life and its environment, esho funi, is more obvious with food. our health is connected to the food we consume and how we produce our food impacts the health of our planet.  it is very important for our kids to know where food comes from and to know the difference between produce and processed food. luckily, these kids have an edible garden at school and have experienced the process of growing food. i think seeing that growing food takes time helps to have appreciation for the food we consume.

i personally like to say a prayer before eating and i especially enjoy home cooked meals celebrated in community. one of my favorite prayers is the Mohawk Thanksgiving Address or the words before all else.

everyone prepared skits related about nutrition and organic food. i had so much fun seeing all the skits and participating.

youth access to education: the dream act. Saturday rally in orlando and sunday march in dc. This weekend is going to be great!

celebrate your victories!!!

never doubt yourself. fear is your biggest obstacle in accomplishing your dreams. always be confident and trust your inner potential. be ready to express and manifest your highest potential at any point in life. you will transform and climb the most immense life mountains and throughout your journey, you will gather jewels of growth and indestructible happiness.

be grateful and humble when you achieve your goals and dreams. be grateful and appreciative of everything you have in life, discover its purpose. take responsibility for everything that happens in your life and your environment. pay your debts of gratitude and make offerings to the world.
focus on the positive and celebrate, celebrate, celebrate! be inclusive in your life and give everyone the opportunity to be part of your victories and celebrations! when you exclude someone, anyone you might be taking an important opportunity away from your life!

today i want to celebrate with you. your love came through, traveled distances and your pictures and messages helped me remember that bonds of connection are stronger than distance and time. somehow we know when to be there for each other and how to encourage each other. somehow we have that wisdom inside us and it travels faster than the speed of sound. it's like magic and telepathy, except that it's as real as any material thing i can touch and see. however, its impact is sooo strong and powerful that it goes right through my body and reaches my heart and soul, those seeds stay there forever and bloom flower sparks of enlightenment.

deja

"no amas a una persona, porque es hermosa. ella es hermosa porque tu la amas"
"tu n'aime pas une personne, parce qu'elle est belle. elle est belle parce que tu l'aime"
"you don't love a person, because he/she is beautiful. he/she is beautiful, because you love him/her"

where are you love?

i miss the feeling when love is strong and everywhere and all around. i can still remember the first time i fell in love, that was back in high school. i remember never being hurt, never being heart broken and feeling that being in love could conquer everything. i remember breathing and living being in love. i remember not being afraid to say anything, feeling that you could understand it all. you would look at me in the eyes or hold my hand, and you would KNOW, travel lifetimes and know what my heart was feeling. you were the fastest traveler i have ever known.

we would walk to places, we would walk everywhere even when if it was raining and have the best time of our lives. everyday with you was the best day of my life. your presence would inspire me and bring out the best in me. i would feel so special and feel like i was made perfectly and just for you. 

then, i grew up and i studied physics. i learned about energy and i thought that was so cool: that matter is never destroyed and only transformed. i thought wow love is never destroyed and just transformed into another kind of love. there was always a little part of your love that never transformed, that stayed with me and that i know will stay with me for lifetimes to come. now, the love you showed me has travelled and dispersed. i love life and i love nature. but tonight i wonder if i will ever love someone like i loved you, with no fears, without hiding not even a piece of who i am, with total hope and faith.

neighbors planting neighborhoods

today, we had the best planting and the most amazing weather. neighbors from close and far worked together to create beautiful neighborhoods, houses were painted and native wildlife gardens were planted. pictures are from the house i worked with. the kids of the family living there also helped in planting: digging, planting, putting the mulch and watering the plants. the kids loved it and i am confident they will take care of the garden for years to come. we learned about our natural environment and planted seeds of sustainability and beauty in miami.

                                putting the mulch around the spanish stopper

                                                    digging a house for a tree

more digging

watering the plants

putting the remaining mulch in the truck

we are almost done!

      my group of volunteers looking good after planting and painting :)

in one of the houses, the volunteers removed a massive amount of the very agressive invasive exotic plants in Florida, air potatoes and brazilian pepper. they are my heroes i was soooo impressed!!! people working with people creating community and healthy neighborhoods and environments make me so happy. today was such a productive and happy day! kuddos to my friend hope for being a trooper for coming with me so early, doing an amazing job, being a supportive friend and inspiring me!!!!

honesty

kids are the best teachers in honesty. they are EXPERTS. yesterday i was making puppets with kids and one of them asked me for help in making the eyes, i did my best considering i am not the best circle cutter. he looked at them and said nevermind without thinking about it twice. i laughed and we kept making crafts. kids are soooo wise, they follow their hearts.

i love being honest, the light feeling of speaking truth. i want to purify my mind so much that my thoughts and my word are like stars shining in the night sky. i have realized that many times, i think something will hurt someone and i don't say anything. well i discovered it's all a cover up!!!! it's me not wanting to be vulnerable. kind of avoiding showing who i am, because i lack the confidence to be true to myself.
when i allow myself to be vulnerable, i have the most life changing, transforming and beautiful conversations. some days like today, i woke up with an amazing conversation sharing my life with a wonderful friend. i love when friends are not afraid to call really early, really late and share something deeply about their lives. i was sooo honored that he could trust me that way. being vulnerable pays off by having the most sincere and real friends.

life wishlist!!!!

in preparation for caro's dreamboard making party on saturday afternoon
 
-for our family to receive our green cards (4) by april 7th, 2010
-get an amazing job biking distance from hollywood, fl
-always support sgi's youth division
-raise more youth leaders
-go to Colombia and hug, kiss, laugh, connect and nurture great bonds of friendship with family and friends
-travel a lot and go to Colombia twice a year ---places that i must visit: friends and family's houses, make many home visits to colombian ywds, villa de leyva, la guajira, el chocó, sierra nevada de santa marta, iguaque, guatavita, el neusa...---
-live in a community oriented great kosen rufu urban homestead house with a native plant, edible, medicinal and butterfy gardens and compost and maybe a couple beehives
-make the gohonzon the center of my life
-complete my 1 million daimoku chart that i started in february 28 in less than 10 months
-win with my life every single day and never be defeated
-go to the Rock the Era festival in Philadelphia in July
-work with the spirit of many in body one in mind
-develop unlimited compassion
-come from a place of unconditional love and no attachments or agendas
-honor you, myself, my life and our lives
-surrender, trust my life condition, be vulnerable
-sleep outdoors, go camping, go on nature adventures, hike, nature walks, play in the water, one of these at least once a week
-cook more, incorporate more and more local foods
-don't let my fears stop me from standing up for justice and equality
-laugh a lot
-be patient
-celebrate life everyday
-continue to grow
-be more organized and not loose things
-not accumulate things i don't need
-focus on what is truly important
-support everyone on their dreams
-never stop dreaming
-make the impossible possible
-follow my heart and trust my intuition
-do yoga everyday

sooo many more, but this feels good right now

the most beautiful tomato

one of the students, really likes to take care of the edible garden in school. when we have play time outside and kids are running around he waters the plants first. yesterday, he harvested a few tomatoes and looked for me and gave me one. it was the most beautiful and most delicious tomato i have ever had.

i want all the children of the world to have an edible garden at school or at home, their faces light up so much when they are outside. i want all children to eat the most healthy and beautiful food in the universe, food right from the ground. 

food is meant to 

-be picked up by your hands

-be seen as it grows with the sun

-to be filled with the purest nutrients

i am the veggies and fruits, i eat

i am the beauty i see in the world

planting: now, today and tomorrow.

i treasure taking time when i am in transition: 

      to not loose what is important to me, 

      to not let my dreams be blown away by the wind,

      to not release my mission prematurely...

i have been moving so much, i thought in the last 18 months, but then i looked deep into my life and realized i have been moving a lot for more than 11 years. that is a  loooooooong time. how can i do something for so long without noticing? i have transplanted myself from place to place in search of growth, adventure and playfulness. it's easier for me to be playful and open when i am traveling. it's harder to be that vulnerable around people that i know will be here now, today and tomorrow. a lot of my suffering came from not being grounded and from there came my desire to be as close to the earth as possible, to be outdoors, day and night, day after day and night after night.

now, the time of integration has begun, time to be part of what the world is today, to create it as i dream it and imagine it while at the same time being in touch with nature. gardening, taking care of the native plant nursery and participating in habitat restorations have brought me home, to being grounded, to having strong roots and to feel ready to reach towards the sky.

i have infinite respect for plants and how they sustain us in the most humble, generous and altruistic ways. for a little while i felt i had lost my connection to plants, i even felt dumb. however, they were just waiting for me patiently to come back, to become truly humble and as my appreciation grew, i keep discovering treasures of beauty, healing and growth at the garden every single moment of life.

wild coffee

Virginia Key

looking up at two strangler figs which juan thinks are the two queens of Virginia Key.

Biscayne Prickley Ash: endangered approx. only 65 plants left in the US. being in the presence of this plant was a treasure. we hiked around looking for them and tagging them to try to make their home surroundings as favorable as possible so they can establish themselves, even native plants are outcompeting them. their bark has beautiful patterns.

flowers about to bloom

Poisonwood bark has pretty colored patterns and the brown spots on the leaves are burns from their toxicity. it's in the mango family.

beach sunflowers: i love walking on a sandy beach and seeing this beautiful flowers. flowery sunny beaches are a paradise.

plants that live on the coast are very strong, they are able to withstand many elements such as salt spray that gives this sea oat leaf a contrast of colors and patterns.

let's give nature a little room to be and heal, especially in urban areas

100,000 light years in a single moment of life

i remember a letter a dear friend gave me when i was moving away from alaska: "if time is cyclical instead of linear i look forward to re-living my time with you". this sentence stayed in my heart forever, i never forgot. this was the beginning of unlimited realities and experiences converging at one moment in time. the beginning of 100,000 light years converging in a single moment of life to create beauty, magic and love in life. he was so right, when you chant nam myoho renge kyo, everything falls into place and the seeds of happiness and dreams bloom at the perfect time, some right away and some wait until the perfect moment, some are kind of like popcorn seeds and pop in and out of life as needed. i love when those synchronicities happen and reveal the amazing rythm of the cycles of life.

life is like a garden: you reap what you saw. life is cyclical and has a perfect rythm. when you tune in to that perfect rythm in nature, in the universe your timing because so precise that it will only plot in favor of everything that is best for your life. every single moment of life becomes sooooo magical, because the mysteries of life become evident, you understand why life is unfolding the way it is and happiness becomes  grounded in a way that you can remain happy even when life is throwing at you obstacles or struggles. 

living this realization in my life, experiencing it in every single cell in my body, every single vibration in my heart felt weird. like i was living in another dimension, one i had never been to before. to be happy in the midst of dissapointment, disenchantment and even sadness seems contradictory. now, i know it is possible when i am balanced, in harmony and exercise all parts of life, mind, body and spirit.

we are all invinsible and have everything we need to be happy within ourselves, when we recognize our interconnection with all beings in the universe and act honoring that connection, life overflows with miracles, transformation, happiness and all the beauty of life.

about me: ramble style

I am motivated by those places where I interconnect with humans and nature. Those special places where the connections we have with each other reveal themselves. I am motivated by kindness and when people open their hearts to reach out to others. I am motivated by those little details, those little gifts of kindness that make all the difference, because when we work together everything is so much better. So yes, I am motivated when being part of a community that genuinely supports each other’s vision and actively reaches out to each other and the world to make it a better place through time and space.

I am passionate about compassion, equality and justice in the world. I am passionate about transformation and growth. Growth that transforms the roots, the inner core and then keeps travelling to the outside. That is the place where I want to work as a leader, an educator and an activist, where we can transform what previously limited us into abundant compassion, care, kindness and love. I want to be a leader that creates equality and access to education for all without regard to race, gender, educational background, social –economic resources or status. I would like to be reflect critically on my life, to seek the truth about me and the resources I consume and invite others to do the same. I want to discover what it really means to consume and how all communities across the process are impacted. I would like to be an active part of the social and environmental justice movement.

Sometimes it takes me a little while, some exploration to find the place where I would like to dive in. I learn better when I can see the whole picture or as whole as I can possible see depending on the resources available and my own capacity. When resources are scarce or unavailable, I like to hunt for them like lost treasures hidden in a dense forest and share them with everyONE.

Usually once I find what I am passionate about I dive right into it and I begin to learn and explore. I am a visual learner, I process slowly and most times it really helps me to verbally process experiences with others. I can get things done quickly if needed, but I work better when I can think and reflect about things and do assignments with time. I like to laugh and play, but there are times to be serious. I am gentle and sensitive and strong at the same time. I am moved easily and can laugh and cry easily.

Right now, I want to learn about how to become an educator that is engaging and inspiring and an activist that is peaceful, strong and creates a tangible difference in the world for others. My life was influenced and transformed by Paulo Freire, bell hooks, Gloria Anzaldúa and Thich Nathn Han. I love spirituality. 

Prayer for Self-love

Today, Creator of the Universe, we ask that you help us to accept ourselves just the way we are, without judgment. Help us to accept our mind the way it is, with all our emotions, our hopes and dreams, our personality, our unique way of being. Help us to accept our body just the way it is, with all its beauty and perfection. Let the love we have for ourselves be so strong that that we never again reject ourselves or sabotage our happiness, freedom and love.

From now on, let every action, every reaction every thought, every emotion, be based on love. Help us, Creator, to increase our self-love until the entire dream of our life is transformed, from fear and drama to love and joy. Let the power of our self-love be strong enough to break the lies we were programmed to believe… all the lies that tell us were are not good enough, or strong enough, or intelligent enough, that we cannot make it. Let the power of our self-love be so strong that we no longer need to live our life according to other people’s opinions. Let us trust ourselves completely to make the choices we must make. With our self-love, we are no longer afraid to face any responsibility in our life or face any problems and resolve them as they arise. Whatever we want to accomplish, let it be done with the power of our self-love.

Starting today, help us to love so much that we never set up any circumstances that go against us. We can live our life being ourselves and not pretending to be someone else just to be accepted by other people. We no longer need other people to accept us or tell us how good we are because we know what we are. With the power of our self-love, let us enjoy what we see every time we look in the mirror. Let there be a big smile on our face that enhances our inner and outer beauty. Help us to feel such intense self-love that we always enjoy our own presence.

Let us love ourselves without judgment, because when we judge, we carry blame and guilt, we have the need for punishment, and we love the perspective in this moment. Clean our minds of emotional poison and self-judgments so we can live in complete peace and love.

Let our self-love be the power that changes the dram of our life. With this new power in our hearts, the power of self-love, let us transform every relationship we have, beginning with the relationship we have with ourselves. Help us to be free of any conflict with loved ones and to forgive them for any injustice we feel in our mind. Help us to love ourselves so much that we forgive anyone who has ever hurt us in our life.

Give us the courage to love our family and friends unconditionally, and to change our relationships in the most positive and loving way. Help us to create new channels of communication in our relationships so there is no war of control, there is no winner or loser. Together let us work as a team for love, for joy, for harmony.

Let our relationships with our family and friends be based on respect and joy so we no longer have the need to tell them how to think or how to be. Let our romantic relationship be the most wonderful relationship; let us feel joy every time we share ourselves with our partner. Help us to accept others just the way they are, without judgment, because when we reject them, we reject ourselves. When we reject ourselves, we reject You.

Today is a new beginning. Help us to start our life over beginning today with the power of self love. Help us to enjoy our life, to enjoy our relationships, to explore life, to take risks, to be alive, and to no longer live in fear of love. Let us open our heart to the love that is our birthright. Help us to become Masters of Gratitude, Generosity, and Love so that we can enjoy all of your creations forever and ever. Amen.

Written by Don Miguel Ruiz

Master of Toltic School Tradition

2010

yo al mundo: cuando se puede recoger la cosecha de este año?
respuesta: se le tiene, pero se le demora

seeds, seedlings and gardening

last week i went to citizen's for a better south florida to start my practicum. i spent all day in the nursery being with the plants, transplanting them, doing surgery on them as Juan would say, making sure they were healthy and that all their needs were met and if they needed any support do something to provide that for them.

i have been reflecting a lot on the energy of seeds. in the mayan calendar, i am a yellow galactic seed. i know i have inside me the gift of blooming and flowering, however seeds can also be dormant for loooooooong periods of time.  i would like to be a seed that is permeable, that has a shell, a seed coat that protects me, but is ready to let life emerge, ready to bloom at any time, at the perfect time. i would also like to not hide behind my seed coat, to be open, gentle and giving.

as i was transplanting some gumbo limbo trees. i encountered a live oak seed that had germinated and was starting to grow, it was one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen in my life. i really respect plants and i often wonder how life feels for a plant.

as i was transplanting different kinds of plants, gumbo limbos, wild coffees, jamaican capers, i started to realize how different plants are and was trying to tune in with them to figure out what they wanted for their new home. as i transplanted them, i was trying to make sure the plants would have enough space to grow to their highest potential, to make sure the space they had felt open and rooted enough.

then, i started to see how important taking it is to take care of the plants around us. we spend so much time taking care of our possessions, cars, houses, doing laundry... how much time do we spend taking care and being grateful for the elements that sustain us and that without them, there would be no life. our plant friends not only provide oxygen for us to breathe, they are also the at the base of the food chain ensuring that we get the food we need. plants prevent erosion holding the ground together for us to have a place to be. i think that taking care of plants is one of the best ways to be in tune with our environment with the elements that shape us and to take care of ourselves, our health and to check in to see how connected are we with the world we live. in

getting my hands in the soil has been a wonderful way to transition back into city life and still feel connected with the earth. as i learn and really experience plant life, i uncover things about myself. getting my hands on the soil helps me be grounded as i transition from place to place, as a i transplant and begin the process of building a new house.