To: Miss Kellina Kathryn Lupas

A letter to myself.

Dear Miss Kellina,

I would advise you to take patience with your life. Know that you are loved and appreciated. Realize the fact that while suffering happens within individuals, healing happens best within a community. Never lose your love of Irish music, or of dancing around the kitchen in socks and pretending you are the Lord of the Dance. Always remember extraneous facts, such as the idea that the pineapple is just a glorified nut. Be silly, especially with children. You know you love it when their little faces light up with joy when you make silly voices, and tell them stories about how we can run atoms on tracks underneath Arizona and make them hit a wall and split apart with the force of a nuclear explosion. Always, always, always be a critical thinker. Never stop reading and learning. Life is not simply an exhortation to get old, it is an invitation to celebrate. Love the summer, revel in the winter snowflakes, dance in the spring, laugh in the fall; realize that hibernation is not just for bears, sometimes. Remember the Nutcracker whenever you encounter a particularly snowy evening or morning.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul. Take time out of every day to get down in earnest prayer and say, "God is this what you want for me?" Be a mindful being, not simply moving through this world, but really dwelling within this magnificent earth. Be idealistic. Someone has to be. Realize that it mattered for that one starfish.

Take time to be artistic. Take time to appreciate the greatest artist of them all. Remember when dad told you that God sometimes takes his huge paintbrush and sweeps it across the sky to make those clouds look so beautiful? There is no end to the beauty in creation. Get excited! Life is majestic. Don't feel weighted down with your internal battles. Be honest, and open.

Above all else, my sweet Kellina, be patient. Life is not a race, nor is it measured by how much we gain or lose in the material sense. You need to take time to develop, otherwise, like the beautiful lotus who bloomed too soon, you too will become stunted. Be feminine, be powerful, be wise, and open yourself to learning from others. Everything is possible through Him who dwells within me. You are loved.

Lazily

I'm just sitting here at my desk, reminiscing about Mexico. You see, currently there is just the slightest, sweetest breeze rolling in through my window, and I can hear the birds, but the day is still a bit chilly. And I remember how on my first trip to Oaxaca, we stayed at this hotel in the city called Casano del Llano, which means Big House on a Hill. We arrived, that first day, late in the night. We had walked all the way from the bus station, and I remember just being completely exhausted and excited all at once. I dropped my things at the end of my bed, marveled at the fact that there weren't any glass windows in the whole building, and promptly fell asleep.

What's triggering the memory now is the sensation I felt when I woke up that morning. The light was gently peeking through the window. It was chilly, but I was cozy in the bed. The room was full of the smell of fresh sheets and flowers. When I walked over to the window, the most beautiful, amazing sunrise greeted me. I'd never even seen a mountain before, and there I was, experiencing one of the most magical things any one of us can go through - a sunrise over the mountains. I just remember the day being crisp in a way I'd never felt before. Charged with energy, ready to give forth a beautiful, full day, resplendent with life and love, and hope.



Yeah, I just wanted to write about how beautiful Oaxaca is. Or was, I should say, before the civil war hit. *sigh* There is always hope, right?

That pic is of me painting faces in Sidihui.