As I sit here and think about the last few months and what has transpired, I have to ask myself, “What the HELL”?  I really do need help.  First of all, I had sex with that sun of a bitch ex husband of mine.  Twice. Oh God, I must be mentally ill? Ok, here’s what’s happened; after a series of fights, “I hate you, you stupid *%$*!@!! (insert what you like, it’ll work for me, I’m sure). Oh, I even called the police on him once.  An ‘ex’ just can’t come to the home of the wife & start laying down rules.  Hell, he was looking for a fight. 

Anyway, as I sit here & re-think what & why all that went down, I just shake my head.  Not too long after the ‘police’ incident, I was going thru what I’ll call ‘a horney as hell spell’.  I tried to find another mate thru some of those social sites that promise the perfect mate for everyone.  Why couldn’t they find a mate for me?  Am I that ‘bad off’?  So, I gave up looking for a new mate.  Yep, you guessed it.  I went back to the old mate.  God, what a mistake.  What, why did I do that?  I get the heebee Jeebee’s just re-thinking about it.  He isn’t even good.  He’s just barely ok.  I work hard with him to get my own orgasim.  He gets off first (always has been that way), probably where I began to lose interest in him.  He has always been a selfish lover & I put up with it for far too many years.  Then, my job begans.  Like I’ve said, I had to work hard for an orgasim with him.  But I did it, I did it twice and now I feel like I need to go to confession or something.

Is there a place a woman can go to get sex and only sex?  No ties, strings, diseases, you know someplace easy?  I don’t even have single male friends that I can turn to, all my friends are couples.  They aren’t happy couples either but I still wouldn’t trade my new life for their married lives.  There goes that ‘heebee jeebee’ feeling again. 

So guess what?  An ex boyfriend of mine from U of  H looked me up on FaceBook.  He brought a smile to my face and a tingly feeling someplace else.  Yeah, when we were together, we went at ‘it’ pretty hard & regular.  We were young, new at sex so we practiced quite a bit.  Now that I think about it, I experienced my first orgasim with him. (I was good at pleasing myself, had been practicing since I found out the other uses for my kittycat).  Anyway, it’ll be nice to see him again, have him as a friend, all that stuff.  He wasn’t that great either but atleast he was different.  The only man that really rang my bell was a college boyfriend I had when I was in my twenties.  I hope he’s looking for me too.

Here are Ways #s 4 and 5 from the last post which promised you 5 Ways to Be More Great-full (Boost Your Gratitude Attitude)…

#4: FAMILY (or couple’s) GRATITUDE BOOK
We just spent a very pleasant hour doing this great art & writing interactive project. So simple and yet so meaningful and fun! Quality family time!

We do not watch television, nor do our children. We are dedicated to parenting consciously and strive to support a vibration of love in our household. Yet, given that my husband and I are both entrepreneurs, with seven businesses between the two of us, and given that our children are still quite young, we know how important and sometimes challenging it can be to come up ideas (not to mention time, energy and materials) for positive family experiences.

I myself am about the least craftsy person you will ever meet and can draw a stick figure on a good day! So believe me when I tell you: Yes, you CAN do this project, and probably with what’s already available in your home. It really ranks high on simple, high on fun, high on memorable, and low on expense. (I can NEVER do those Origami things, puuleeeeeazzze, can we talk?)

Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time to do this Family Gratitude Book…but of course so is any day that ends in “y.” Monday, Tuesday…. Enjoy!

Materials:

All you need is:

Some blank paper (we used printer or copy paper, white)

Construction paper

Ribbon or brass brads to secure the book

Markers, pencils, hole punch and/or scissors

Optional: Stickers, stamps, other art supplies, scrapbook, photos

Definitely: A little bit of time and lots of love!

We started by making a brainstormed list of everything we are grateful for. You can do this any way you like; follow your own creative impulses & inspiration. We have four family members, so I decided to color code what we wrote on this collective page or you could just all write and draw without attributing who said/drew what, or make a chart, have sections of the page, etc. The things my 6-year-old called out first were written in yellow, my 10-year-old chose blue, I picked purple and my husband green. We made a color key on the page and wrote and drew various things we are thankful for: Our dog came first, followed by a lovely torrent such as family and friends, food, a good home, music, the Earth, music, health, God, life and so on.

Then I gave each family member a separate page on which to do whatever they like, the only requirement being that whatever is on the page relates to or represents what they are thankful for. We stuck in some more blank pages, so we can add more later as we are inspired.

The kids each got to pick a color for the front and back covers. The older did the words, the younger did the drawings. We punched holes, added brads, all signed the masterpiece and voila! A Family Gratitude Book.

Not only a wonderful way to spend part of our Thanksgiving Day, but a precious keepsake, and, I trust, a new family tradition as well. We will be sharing this book with family all weekend long and inviting them to add to it as well. And of course, it can be done any day! Every day bears its own gifts if we just open the package.

Today we focused mainly on what we are thankful for in our current lives (now), but we could also include wonderful memories (past) and gratitude for all the blessings on the way! (future)

Alternative for Couples: You can also do this as a Couple’s Gratitude Book or Journal, a beautiful way to show appreciation and deepen connection. So few marriages last or are happy, as we all know, and I am blessed to have a deliriously, deLIGHTfully ecstatic marriage, 12 years strong and better every day. One of the reasons is of course, the selection of the right mate; but in order to do so, we had to do the necessary self-healing and inner preparation to bring whole, healthy individuals to the relationship. Much of this work is presented in my book: The Radical Self-Love Workbook. But it is also essential to nurture even the best of relationships, and my husband and I do so daily in many creative ways such as this.

More tips on love and relationships are at

www.LoveandSpirit.org

and at my love blog: loveandspiritblog.wordpress.com.

Whether you do the Gratitude Book as a homemade book like we did today, like a scrapbook or journal, and whether you do it as a family activity or a couple’s relationship-enhancer, it will help you see your life through the eyes of love and gratitude, and bring you even closer with those you love. Enjoy! And I welcome you to send me a comment or email to share your experience.

#5: Honor the 4 Directions and 4 Sacred Elements:

Earth, Air, Fire, Water

You do not have to be Native American to appreciate one of their traditions, which is to honor the Medicine Wheel, facing each of the four directions, thanking each one for their gifts. This is also a tradition in all indigenous cultures including pre-Christian Europe (a.k.a. Wicca, Druidry, paganism, et al.), Africa, Australia, Hawaii and South America.

In fact, if you scratch the surface beneath contemporary religions on any part of the Earth, you will find an ancient shamanic tradition that honors all the directions and all of nature as sacred.

All things follow this cycle of birth, growth, fruition and quietude, whether we are looking at seasons, a lifespan, a day, or a garden. The beauty of Medicine Wheel ceremony and the paradigm itself is that it can be applied to our lives in so many ways.

So how do you honor the directions and elements, to give thanks for what they give to us so generously? Here are a few ideas:

* Altar: Create an altar to each direction or a Medicine Wheel altar encompassing all the directions/elements. This can be in your home or outside. My husband specializes in creating Medicine Wheels as a sacred practice on the land, and has helped others to do this as well.

* Cherokee Dance of Life – You would need to learn this in person from someone who has learned it, oral tradition. This is an incredible moving meditation to all 4 directions, peoples, and elements which also honors Mother Earth and Father Sky, balances their energies as sacred partners in our hearts, and helps us give away the gifts of Spirit that are our special medicine to share with the world through our right work and service. Occasionally my husband and I share this Dance with our community. If you live near Sacramento, and would like to experience this dance, let us know so we can invite you. Or perhaps Spirit will guide you to another teacher of this beautiful tradition.

* Drum, chant, play flute to each direction

* Give offerings such as cornmeal, tobacco or sage smoke to each direction

* Speak aloud from your heart to each direction and give thanks

* Sweat lodge

* Vision quest

If you do either sweat lodge or vision quest, please do so with the guidance of a Native elder to be sure you do it properly and safely.

* Journal or journey (shamanic meditation) to discover what power animals comprise your personal Medicine Wheel of your own energy field. I love to lead these meditations when I am called to do so. Honoring your own inner Medicine Wheel supports a strong aura and keeps you connected to your spirit guides, if this resonates for you.

Associations with Each Direction

Depending on which culture or even which tribe you consult, there are somewhat different associations with the directions, colors, elements and meanings, the medicine or power that direction helps us receive and embody. The one I am most familiar with follows but this is not dogma, merely a summary of what I have found to be the more universal associations. Follow your own heart and work with any spiritual practice in the way that resonates for your own heart and inner truth.

While I have a small amount of native blood, I was adopted and was not raised in that tradition. I discovered shamanism after my initiation and spiritual awakening 15 years ago. I do not claim to be a tribal elder or teacher of any one tradition. I am an interfaith minister, meditation teacher, hypnotherapist, energy healer and intuitive life coach. I have been on the path of Spirit, studying, practicing and sharing healing and wisdom teachings from many cultures for several decades, so I offer here a simplified summary as a starting point for your discovery journey. You would do well to study more in depth with a local teacher steeped in the particular tradition that calls to your spirit, and of course feel free to research further on the Web, in books, classes, and listen to your own inner guidance. I always say the best way to pray, do ceremony or ritual is the way that feels best to you, with harm to none, of course. But we do need to honor the specific traditions so they are not all diluted through multiculturalism.

From the East we have the yellow people (Asia) and the gift of Air, Brother Wind, clarity of vision, inspiration, the new day, new beginnings, establishment of purpose and intention, and springtime.

From South, we receive the wisdom of the black people (Africa), Fire. The tools, strength, perseverance and energy to follow through and manifest, midday/ noon, summer, also humor and passion, innocence and trust.

The West gives us the culture of the Red people (such as Native Americans), the setting sun, Water, emotions, the fall season, self-evaluation toward completion, looks-within time, peace, rest and healing.

And the North represents the White (European) people and all their cultural gift. The sacred mountain, winter, midnight, time to slow down, go within and be still to receive guidance for what comes next. Completion, what you keep from the past cycle and all that you have accomplished and learned. It is also associated with the Spirit and wisdom.

Note: You can also honor the other 3 directions: Earth (below), Sky (above) and Center (within).

I hope you enjoyed these five creative ways to give thanks and I wish you abundant blessings on your journey!

Finally, in the spirit of Sufi mystic poet Rumi, I invite you to kiss the ground. Blow kisses to the sky. Bow to everything. Everything is sacred.

With Love,

Sage

More resources for your path, including free special reports on abundance, love, transformational classes, soul and energy healing sessions, intuitive readings, matchmaking and more are at:

www.LoveandSpirit.org

Taylor@LoveandSpirit.org

“Let the beauty we love be what we do.

There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”

- Rumi

Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason wants Christians to be “ambassadors for Christ”. What’s that?

Here is a dictionary definition of ambassador:

1. a diplomatic official of the highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative (ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary).

2. a diplomatic official of the highest rank sent by a government to represent it on a temporary mission, as for negotiating a treaty.

3. a diplomatic official serving as permanent head of a country’s mission to the United Nations or some other international organization.

4. an authorized messenger or representative. Abbreviation: Amb., amb.

Greg Koukl says that a good ambassador needs 3 things: knowledge, wisdom and character.

Greg writes:

I’ve heard it said that sometimes you will be the only living Bible that anyone can read. Well, that’s what it means to be an ambassador. You will speak for Christ. One way or another, for good or for ill, you will speak for Him if you are a follower of Jesus Christ. So we want to strengthen good representatives, and we know that takes emphasis in three areas.

One are to strengthen as an ambassador is knowledge. In other words, you’ve got to know a few things that your sovereign wants you to represent to the rest of the world. So you’ve got to have this knowledge base.

Secondly, you’ve got to communicate that knowledge in a way that is sensitive to the people that you’re sent to. You need to understand their way of thinking. You need to understand their language after a fashion. You must be diplomatic, tactical after a fashion. So there is a certain wisdom, the right use of knowledge, that’s necessary for you to be an effective ambassador.

A good ambassador, any ambassador, packages that knowledge and strategy in the manner of delivery in himself or herself. It’s all wrapped up in an individual, and if that individual is offensive, if that individual is a bad representative, it doesn’t matter that the knowledge and tactics are sound. If the individual is wrong then the message loses its force. This is why we emphasize not just knowledge, not just wisdom, but also character. You must package the entire message in you personally so that you can be an effective, accurate, and virtuous representative or ambassador for Jesus Christ.

I think that a good ambassador for Christ needs to be motivated, as well. A good ambassador is concerned when some people have false beliefs about God’s existence, character and purposes. An ambassador cannot stand by and do nothing while God’s reputation is diminished in public. It is this concern for God as a friend that drives people to study apologetics, as well as theology,science, history, etc. We want to know what God is like, what he’s done and how we can show these things to be true.

The mission of Christian ambassadors

Consider 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, especially verses 11 and 2:

¹¹Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.

¹²We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.

¹³If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.

¹⁴For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

¹⁵And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

¹⁶So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

²¹God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This passage about reconciling God and man is one of my favorites in the Bible.

God has chosen us to communicate on his behalf to people who don’t know him. An ambassador doesn’t treat God as a means to achieving happiness, security, health and wealth in this life. Nor is the ambassador’s job to let other people be happy without a relationship with the real God who is really there. The ambassador has a responsibility to explain God’s existence, character and purposes to those who are still ignorant of him. And that takes effort. God is not interested in making his human “pets” happy. He’s given us a task to accomplish – a task that may well consume a good deal of time, effort and money. A task that may diminish our happiness by making us different and unpopular.

Apologetics demonstrates your friendship with God

I often think about how to test others to see whether they are genuine Christians or not. This can be done for friendship or even when testing a prospective mate. A subjective “Christian” who invents their own view of God subjectively, using intuition and emotions, is not going to put themselves second for God and serve him as an ambassador. Instead, they’ll think that a relationship with God really means projecting their own desire for happiness onto God. “God” is there to make them feel happy, not to make demands on them.

And if a person doesn’t want a relationship with God as a real person, they won’t relate to you as a real person, either. If a person doesn’t think that God has purposes and feelings distinct from their own, they won’t think you have purposes and feelings distinct from their own. If a person thinks that God’s purpose is to make them happier, then they’ll think that your purpose is to make them happier. If a person is not willing to sacrifice their interests for God’s interests, they aren’t going to sacrifice their interests for your interests, either.

well between my grandparents visiting, final exams, teaching english classes and loosing my cellphone, I haven´t got much time to blog right now. But my grandparents are here visiting, and in spite of knowing very very little spanish, I think they are having a good time. Here´s proof:

Above: enjoying mate with my grandparents in Rodo Park in Montevideo

Happy thanksgiving! More updates to come!!!

I´m starting to come toward the end of my time here,  so I would like to start a series of posts that reflect on my time and experience here as a whole.  I was thinking over recently some of the things that shocked me a bit when I first arrived, but that I now accept as a part of everyday life.

Uruguay is interesting in that it is in many ways very modern and developed, but nevertheless there are still some social realities here that would be unheard of in most parts of the U.S..  So here it is, 15 things that no longer shock me in Montevideo:

1. Very cracked sidewalks
2. Dog poop on the sidewalks and lots of stray dogs. The lower class the neighborhood, the more dogs there are, and sometimes cats too. Oh, and people in general don´t seem to believe in castrating their pets here.
3. Vendors and street musicians on the buses
4. graffiti. Lots of it. Especially most of it relates to sports teams (Piñarol, Nacional, Bolsa or the most popular national teams) or politics (mostly for ¨Pepe¨ Mujica, but also Lacalle).
5. The people riding through town in horsedrawn carts collecting and sorting through the garbage

6. The traffic: lanes seem to be only suggestions or guidelines. Cars have a habbit of cutting in right in front of or right behind a pedestrian when turning (taxis are the worst). It is often common to hear a horn blowing as they drive through the intersection, should a brave pedestrian be attempting to cross and save themselves a few minutes, as though to say, ¨Don´t even try to cross in front of me ´cuz i´m not slowing down¨.
7. ¨Lindos Ojos.¨ Lighter colored eyes are not as common here and are apparently coveted and worshiped by men. If I had a peso for every time I heard ¨lindos ojos¨ (pretty eyes) from an older man passing by, I would be one wealthy gringa.
8. Montevideo fashion. A lot of people wear more subdued colors, like black, brown, olive, white. But there seems to be a fashion trend among certain groups of the younger generartion to wear bright green, bright purple, or bright peachy, orange-y coral.
9. People–especially men in their 20s, 30s, 40s carrying a thermos under their elbow and mate in their hand. They are everywhere. On the sidewalks, in the plazas, on the rambla, on the bus. In Argentina they say that uruguayans have a longer arm to hold the thermos.
10. People trying to make money at crosswalks during redlights. They juggle, wash windows, and sell flowers or newspapers to the people in cars.

11. ¨Guardacoches¨ — the people who sit on the sidewalks and help people to parallel park and watch the cars while their away. They operate privately and live off of the change people give them for their services.
12. Besos. The normal form of greating someone is a kiss or an air kiss on the cheek. When entering a room it is polite to greet everyone in the group (even if it takes a looong time).
13. No indoor heating and air conditioning in most houses. I lucked out that mine had heat.
14. Milk in bags (those who have been following my blog since the beginning may remember my first supermarket experience…)
15. Artigas statues everywhere. General Artigas is their equivelent of the founding father of Uruguay. You see images and statues of him all over the place.

Este ora 11 :26 si cateva secunde… pana voi termina articolul va fi vreo 11:30 – 11:40.

Dupa cum spuneam, e ora 11:26 si vreau muzica… Vreau shoogy-dooghy-boogy sau shooby-dooby-wooby cu un pic de chuba-chuba si mai mult da-dam-ta-dam. Vreau Ray Charles, vreau Elvis Presley, vreau Hit the road Jack, vreau blue suede shoes. Vreau energie, vreau sa zbarnaie toata lumea, vreau sa vibreze viata in tot ce vad! Ma plictisesc de… tot. Nimic nu mai e shooby-dooby…

Apoi intru in cadere si ma rasucesc la 180 de grade, incepand sa-mi doresc un blues, un jazz, ceva mai elevat, sau daca nu, mai trist, mai molcom, mai “neiesit din randuri”, ceva lipsit de energie. Vreau un… Dream a little dream of me sau un wish you were here, sau un slow a la Led Zeppelin. Of… balonarii astia le au cu muzica. Mai ales cu bluesurile. Asculta tu dazed and confused sau babe, i’m gonna leave you si spune-mi apoi ca esti indiferent… muzica asta te atinge.

Te, sau ma resemnez/i si incep/i sa ies/i din starea asta si cautam un Beethoven sau un Brahms sau oricare alt clasic, ceva sa ne calmeze, sa ne neutralizeze, sa ne aplatizeze iesirile din comun si asculti asculti simfonia a 5a de Beethoven si..gata? Esti normal? Sunt “neiesit din comun”? Vorbim despre mine sau despre tine? (m-am incurcat ).

Ma duc apoi la culcare in ipostaza normalului, simtindu-ma neutru, comun, “normal” sau “cum ar trebui sa ma simt inainte de alta noapte obisnuita, in care voi avea un somn obisnuit” si visez cu ochii deschisi pentru ca mintea mi-e prea incarcata. Oricat incerc sa ma comport normal nu pot si asta se reflecta asupra somnului. Si tu probabil ai o “neregula”, un semnal care urla “NU ESTI NORMAL! NU ESTI LA FEL CA CEILALTI! Pentru numele lui Dumnezeu, ati avut parinti diferiti!!” . Si stau apoi minute sau ore in pat pana adorm; deobicei tot cu o melodie in gand, deobicei ceva ce am auzit in ziua respectiva si nu-mi pot scoate din minte, oricat  de nasoala ar fi melodia dupa standardele mele.

…camera de hotel…. pat…lumina puternica… soare…. balcon…. briza diminetii….iar soarele ala tampit… ceata…. CEATA?! Casc ochii mai bine, ma frec pertinent la globii oculari si-mi dau seama ca iar e ceata de-o tai cu cutitul si ca “paradisul” maritim inca nu s-a mutat in fundul asta de tara; nu se vede blocul de peste strada. Ma uit la ticaitor: 5:40. Ieeee… iar o zi interesanta (cu 3-4 ore de somn din 8 minimum recomandate, orice e interesant) pornesc laptopul si muzica. Hm…ce sa aleg? E o dimineata imputita… deci muzica trebuie sa fie… optimista! orice dimineata trebuie inceputa optimist, cu un dus de ala comunist, cu apa la -0 grade, cu paine uscata, ceai in care ai scapat prea multa miere, eventual ai inlocuit mierea “din greseala” cu dulceata sau unt (cum fac eu cand zbarnai prea puternic de energie…), un gand de ala fericit care te duce la cele 2 lucrari si tema la franceza nefacuta care te asteapta azi la scoala eventual alta sinapsa care-ti aduce o imagine fericita a unei “ea”; aici renunt la ironie si spun ca asta iti mai aduce un ranjet idiot pe fata . Te gandesti la “ea” sau “el”( “el” daca din diferite motive iti lipseste testosteronul) si incepi sa pui inca o doza de unt in ceai si miere pe fata de masa, incepi sa razi pana vine maica-ta si-ti insenineaza iar ziua cu un dragastos “la ce ora te-ai culcat, ai capiat?! daca nu dormi..blabla”. Te scoli frumusel de la masa si antrenezi boxele intr-o vibratie optimista a lui Bobby McFerrin si incepi sa-ti trantesti competent manualele si ce-a mai ramas din caiete in ghiozdan. Se termina melodia, iti pui stiloul in compartimentul ghiozdanului, te murdaresti de cerneala, iti imbraci hainele, te uiti la paleta larga de incaltaminte care iti sta la dispozitie si optezi din nou pentru tenesii jegosi care cad in fiecare zi la datorie cu inca o cusatura, le ceri parintilor niste parale, daca ai bafta primesti, daca nu …. soarta ) si o tai pe usa. Iti pui muzicantul de servici sa-si faca treaba, te impiedici de aceeasi brodura ca in fiecare dimineata si incepi sa fredonezi ce se nimereste din playlist, in cazul meu, asta imi comenteaza fiecare dimineata .

Apoi te lasi in plictiseala orelor, o dai in bara la o lucrare, iei un 2 la franceza si te intorci acasa fericit ca ai scapat la mate. Ii explici lui maica-ta cum ai facut-o de fasole la biologie numai din cauza lui Marte care azi a intrat intre Luna si Pamant si a lui Jupiter care s-a uitat cas la Pluto care facea sarmale la 2 dimineata, cu slitul deschis. Ajungi in pat te trantesti, o ignori pe saraca si omniprezenta mama care iar isi respecta cu strictete programul, astfel ca la orele 2:20 ale dupa-amiezii te informeaza ca va certati iar daca nu-ti depui geaca in cuier… apoi urmeaza alte maruntisuri, apoi alte ganduri, apoi weekend, din care nu va lipsi muzica . Pana atunci va las cu dumnealor:

Para practicar y mejorar nuestro pensamiento y lógica, aquí os dejamos el Tangram: un juego tradicional chino hecho con un cuadrado dividido en siete piezas (un paralelogramo, un cuadrado y cinco triángulos) que hay que ordenar para lograr diseños específicos.

Esta es una pregunta frecuente que me hacen mis alumnos de las clases de Español y Voseo, y los asistentes al “mate´s workshop” que deja traslucir una respuesta que sobrepasa las dos horas reloj de una intensa conversación.
Desde la fácil idea de que el mate es una bebida tradicional servida en diversos recipientes con una bombilla, a la imprescindible explicación de que el mate es sinónimo del encuentro de amigos y de la comunicación mas allá del tipo de mate que se tome y el tiempo que se pase juntos…

Mates modernos y coloridos

Desde la visita rápida de una hija a la casa de su mamá… hasta las calurosas tardes de verano con las vecinas y la ineludible “sacada de cuero”!!
El mate pasa el tiempo histórico en su primitiva versión de los primeros mates de los aborígenes y los gauchos al futurismo del mate con una base para el arte y el diseño.
El refinado tratamiento actual de la yerba mate presenta nuevos sabores, la versión despalada, la versión light para dietas, todo esto acompañado de la búsqueda de la perfección de la temperatura del agua para sacar el máximo sabor para dar placer al paladar y beneficiarse de la infusión saludable sin dejar el tradicional aroma de la tierra que le da origen.
Con el tiempo el mate dejó de ser una simple infusión para ser un encanto del gourmet llevado hasta el casi impensable helado de mate cocido!
Los versos de la literatura lo tienen como fuente de inspiración que refleja la cultura profundamente argentina.
Un turista explorador o conocedor del destino que quiere visitar no dejará el país sin una mínima colección de mates y bombillas mas una lista de direcciones en su lugar de procedencia donde encontrará yerba para reponer su nuevo vicio, entienden que ya no basta la sola exposición a los primeros sorbos de mate sino que en voz baja preguntan dónde y cuándo es el “Mate workshop” porque se sienten culpables de no haber probado ya la llamada “maravilla argentina”.
El mate, pues, es motivo de un intenso estudio y un motivo fuerte para venir al país de Chef y aficionados a los sabores exquisitos del mundo gastronómicos y a médicos o nutricionistas en busca de nuevas tendencias saludables.
Un punto a destacar es el fanatismo de los ” vegans o veganos del mundo que se adhieren al mate con un magnetismo religioso.
Este compañero diario va más allá de muchas costumbres argentinas, por ejemplo: a acompañado a mi abuelo a la tumba y no es solo una expresión literal, de hecho lo sepultamos con su mate y bombilla dentro del cajón para cumplir su deseo final!

I had been to the bars, the clubs and even the church. The women at the bars and clubs were a little too wild and wacky for me and the women at the church were a little too serious. I might be one of the few men in the world where personality really is more important to me than looks. I figured this would make things easier in my life, but it has actually had the exact opposite effect. I heared Plenty of Fish before I never thought I would try an online dating site, but with everything else failing, I figured why not.

When I first came across Luw.me, I wasn’t really sure how it worked. They said they searched other dating sites for matches for you yet you communicated with matches on their site. It was a little confusing and I didn’t really know what I was doing, but since the first ten days were free, I figured I’d roll the dice. I filled out my information and waited, hoping there would be someone, but not expecting much.

A few days later there was a match. What I didn’t expect was for her to be pretty. I usually don’t look for Barbies. But … she did turn out to have some personality as well. It has only been two weeks, but we’ve been having some great video chats. She seems really nice and has similar interests as me, the most important being hiking. If I have to pay a small fee to www.luw.me to continue our relationship, I’ll do that without concern. I’d actually pay anything for the perfect girl, but getting the discount is still nice.

Don’t mean much.

Seriously, I have had this thought rolling around for a couple years now and the more I think about and live with it the more I conclude that intentions mean virtually nothing.

This is a big kind of statement.  I know that.  But I really have been toying with it for quite a while and I’m growing more and more sure that I’m on to something here.

Even in the most extreme cases – people who are later described as sadistic despots for example – often genuinely believe that ridding the world of…

_insert group defined by religion, gender, race, age, sexual orientation etc. here_

… will make the world a better, safer, more beautiful place.

They have, in their minds, the best possible intentions.

It is those who do not share their beliefs who decide that they are cruel/mad/insane/psychotic and dangerous.  And history.  History decides.  A history told by whomever was left standing and has the loudest voice, the longest reach, their own best intentions…

One can argue, in fact, that even the cruelest intentions don’t mean anything if they are not acted upon.  One must act on hate or speak hate or incite hate in others for other people to truly know that you are hateful.  Hate in one’s heart, in one’s mind… It mostly hurts the bearer.

And, it is equally true that the best of intentions are also meaningless if one never lives out their goodness, if one never acts generously or kindly.  No matter how much love one has to give, if one does not give it then it is impossible for anyone else to know that you are loving.  I have also begun to wonder if perhaps keeping love inside oneself might not be far more detrimental to one’s well-being than harbouring hate…

I should make clear, too, that I am not in any way trying to dive into moral relativism here – I do personally believe that there are a set of people who’s inner workings are fundamentally admirable and others whose insides are more rancid than two pounds of ground beef in a hot summer sun.  There is a spectrum of right and wrong in this crazy universe of ours.  It’s just that, trite though this may sound, it’s complicated.

And, really, I’m not even talking about the big intentions of those who would be King.

I’m talking about day to day.  If I’m to be honest, this idea grew mostly out of my pondering on that which we call “romantic love.”  It was only after I’d mulled on it in that context for a while that I started to realize that intentions barely matter in most relationships be they with friends, family – hell even our pets don’t care if we “meant to” feed them before we went on an all-night bender…

They just know they didn’t get fed.

It’s what we do that matters.  It’s what we don’t do.

The rest is just the story we tell ourselves to justify our own cowardice at not being able to admit that someone is failing us, that we are failing someone; that we or the people we love are doing the wrong things or not doing anywhere near enough of the right things.

It’s what we do that matters.

And, please bear in mind that though ’saying things’ is valuable. Sharing one’s thoughts and feelings is, in fact, something one “does” – speech is nowhere near the final word on “action.”

This is hard for a writer to admit… That saying things – the effective, affecting, use of words – is not enough…  It’s meaningful.  It’s important.  It’s one of the most beautiful places to start because words are powerful in their own right.  They can be so motivating, so powerful that they incite the most incredible sorts of action but action exists without and beyond words and it always will.

Love is a word and a powerful one.  It’s an act of faith to let yourself feel it.  It’s an act of faith to offer it to another human being.

But even “I love you” is nothing without follow-through.

It’s what we do that matters.

It’s what we DO.

And if you can’t take my word for it, take Eliza Doolittle’s:

The Margay is a rare, endangered cat that closely resembles an ocelot.  These beautiful cats can be seen in rain forests in Mexico, and South and Central America east of the Andes Mountains.  The Margay’s fur can be grayish to cinnamon in color with dark brown spots. They have large eyes and short, round heads.  Adult Margays can be range from 18.2 to 31 inches in length and weigh between 6 and 20 pounds. The tail can grow to be 20 inches long.

The Margay is a very skilled climber and jumper as is often called the “tree ocelot.” The scientific name of this cat is the “Leopardus Wiedii”. Named for Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied. Other names and subspecies of the Margay are Felis Wiedii, Long-tailed Spotted Cat, Tree Ocelot.

The Margay is the only cat species that is known to be able to climb down a tree head first, they are able to rotate their ankles 180 degrees while heading down the tree.  They are also known to hang from tree branches with one hind foot, like a monkey does with its tail.

Preferring to spend most of it’s time in the trees the Margay is a solitary and nocturnal animal that prefers remote sections of the rain forest.  This cats diet consists of rodents, monkeys, lizards, birds, tree frogs and fruit.  They may also eat grass and vegetation, but mainly to help with digestion.  Margays do hunt on the ground but are able to hunt prey entirely in trees.

Mating can occur year-round and this species is solitary until ready to mate.  Females give birth to one or two kittens after a gestation period of 70 days.  The nest for the kittens is made in a hollow tree hole.

The main threat to the Margay is hunting for it’s fur, pet trade and habitat loss due to deforestation.  They do not adapt well to human interference and are nearly extinct in the northern parts of it’s range.

Mate Soulmate SPDP  

Short Fiction – A Tasty Story

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Pune. Fergusson College Road. Vaishali Restaurant. 5 PM on a Sunday evening.

Crowded. Crammed full. Jam-packed. All tables occupied chock-a-block. Aisles teeming with people waiting with watchful eyes for signs of someone finishing their refreshments.

Suddenly I see a woman waving to me, beckoning me with her hand. Her face seems familiar – oh yes, she is Ravi’s wife. She is sitting all alone on a table for two with a half eaten masala dosa in front of her.

I walk towards her and give her a smile.

“Sit down, sit down,” she says to me, gesturing with her hand towards the empty chair opposite her, “Sit down here with me, otherwise you will have to wait for hours.”

I sit down opposite her and say, “Thanks.”

She summons a waiter and orders peremptorily, “SPDP.”

“Two?” the waiter asks.

“No, one SPDP for Madam,” she says pointing to the empty plate in front of me without even bothering to ask me, then she pauses for a moment and tells the waiter, “and get one Kachori for me.”

Before I can recover my wits, she says, “You like SPDP don’t you? Ravi told me.”

“Yes, I love the SPDP at Vaishali. In fact I come all the way here every Sunday…”

“To spend the day reading in the library opposite followed by an SPDP at Vaishali,” she completes my sentence.

“Ravi told you all this?”

“Of course. He’s told me everything about you. Ravi admires you so much, he always talks about you.”

“Really? But he never tells me anything about you.”

“What’s there to tell? I am only his housewife, you are his office wife.”

“Come on. Please don’t say that. There is nothing like that between me and Ravi. We are just colleagues – workmates…”

“Workmates?” Ravi’s wife interrupts, and then says with a hint of sarcasm, “I think you are his true soulmate – and I am only his mate!”

I am struck dumb, feel a bit uneasy, but suddenly the plate of SPDP is kept in front of me, so I look down and begin to eat.

“I’m sorry,” she says, “Don’t get angry. I was just teasing. I want you to be Ravi’s friend. He likes you so much. That’s why he is so happy in office and doing so well in his work.”

I stop eating; look up at her vacuously, wondering what to say.

“Ravi appreciates you so much he even brings you home to me every evening in his thoughts and talks…that’s why I wanted to meet you.”

“We’ve met before…”

“Only once, that too only an introduction, at the Office Annual Day get-together…we are hardly married for three months, you know, and you all are so busy, with your targets and all, so I decided to meet you, talk to you, get to know you better, make a friendship…”

“You mean…”

“Yes, I contrived this coincidence. I came to the library also, but you were so busy browsing that I did not want to disturb you, so I waited here in Vaishali knowing you would surely come for your SPDP.”

“You’re not eating your Kachori,” I say, trying to change the direction of the conversation.

“Here, you eat,” she says pushing her untouched plate of Kachori and katori of whipped curds towards me, “I am all full – I ate an Uttapam, Idli-Vada Sambar, god-knows-what, waiting for you to come…”

She leans forward and casually picks up a Sev Potato Dahi Puri from my plate, pops into her mouth and says, “Wow. I love the chatpata flavour of SPDP – you call it Umami taste or something – that’s what you told Ravi, isn’t it?”

“I think I’ll go now,” I say, feeling distinctly uncomfortable, making up my mind to have a long talk with Ravi the moment I meet him in the morning at work.

“No, no, don’t go, I want to show you something.”

“Show me something?”

“Yes, that’s why I came all the way here to meet you.”

We finish the SPDP and Kachori, I insist on paying the bill, she doesn’t object too much, and then she takes me to the drapery section of the Shopping Mall nearby.

“We are furnishing our new house,” she says, pointing at the curtain cloth on display.

I look at her clueless.

“I like yellow, you like blue, and since you have told him about the aesthetic cool tranquil beauty of the blue colour, Ravi is besotted with everything blue – blue shirts, blue trousers, blue table-covers, blue bed-sheets, blue napkins, the sober blue everything that you make him buy…”

I look furtively and self-consciously at the blue dress I am wearing, and say, “Okay, tell me which curtains you like.”

She points to a bright yellow floral print and says, “I like that one, I love yellow, so lively and cheerful… I hate sober gloomy colours, especially blue, it depresses me.”

Next morning at the office, Ravi says to me, “Hey, keep yourself free in the evening. We’ll go to Deccan for some shopping. You’ve got to help me select curtains for our new home. Then we’ll have SPDP at Vaishali.”

“Sure, Ravi, I’ll love to come with you,” I say.

Now I’ve got till evening to decide one thing – which colour curtains should I tell Ravi to buy – Yellow Curtains or Blue Curtains?

VIKRAM KARVE

 Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve 

Appetite for a Stroll

vikramkarve@sify.com