Feng Shui Ole!

Tomorrow my husband and I are leaving for Mexico for five days. We try to work this in every winter. We anticipate the trip for weeks prior to leaving, relish each and every minute while we’re there, and return renewed and invigorated. I have a friend who berates us for not spending more time down there. If you’re going to spend the money to go, why not stay longer, she preaches. I always have to reassure her we’re just fine doing it the way we want. I’m taking four books, three magazines and my Chinese to study-----as you can see, no tromping around ancient ruins for me. It always astounds me that we can both put the brakes on so quickly—no transition time required. We get there and drop.

The other piece that is so fascinating to watch is that we both adapt to the environment in ways we’d never do here in Minnesota. We eat hot spicey food, which would normally never agree with my system. We drink sometimes two margueritas a day (or pina coladas, depending on our mood) with no side effects. We read for hours on end with no pangs of guilt. Neither one of us could do any of this here without some ramifications.

I also wear things there that I would never wear here. In fact, I kind of have my Mexico wardrobe now----flamboyant, colorful, flowing items. My wardrobe color of choice (black) just doesn’t work in the land of endless sunshine and beaches. My husband wears a big floppy hat. He wouldn’t be caught dead in that thing here at home.

Adapting to one’s surroundings is what it’s all about. That time-worn Feng Shui phrase “Your space reflects your life” couldn’t be more true than when we land in Mexico. We take on a whole new routine, a new look, and new patterns. I often wonder if we lived there permanently whether we’d revert back to our Minnesota ways of doing life. I think not. Mexico holds a strong cultural energy to which we adapt. While in Mexico we let ourselves be open to the natural flow of the land, without a schedule or any expectations. We let ourselves live the “wind and water” of the place, as well as the beach and cerveza.