What does a cactus wear to a business meeting?
I’m blank.
Despite the wonderful adventures I’ve been recently living, I’ve got no idea what to write to you about this week.
So I’m going to write about cacti.
A cactus, depending on its species, has the ability to live up to 300 years. In the state of Puebla, Mexico, there is something called the Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán Cuicatlán, which is basically a MASSIVE protected area full of cacti and other native plants (some with medicinal properties, some with psychedelic benefits). By massive I mean almost 500,000 hectares, which is 1,235,526 acres, which is bigger than the entire state of Rhode Island.
(Check out my photo series on Instagram.)
The thing about the cacti is they stay put. They don’t move around constantly, they just do what they’re inherently meant to do and they thrive for centuries.
Humans, on the other hand, are trickier.
Some of us do decide to stay put. Others are always looking for the next thing. I’m of the latter group.
I’m in love with Mexico City. My life here is everything I dreamed it would be and more. Yet for some reason, I’m always looking for something else. Recently, I went to Veracruz and really liked it. I left thinking, “Oh yeah, I’d like to try living there someday.” I met a new friend who lived a while in Guadalajara, a fact that sparked a series of related questions about the lifestyle in comparison to Mexico City and if he would recommend living there. I want to live in Vietnam, the Middle East, Milan, and maybe Barcelona again some day.
The question here is, why? What am I actually looking for?
Because if it’s happiness, I’ve got it. And I know by now that happiness ultimately does not come from where you live (though I do believe it plays a defining role) since it’s a choice. We all have the option to choose to be negative or positive, happy or sad, rich or poor. Sometimes it’s a really difficult choice and its requirements a challenge to execute, but it’s always there.
What would happen internally if I chose Mexico City as my long term home? Would I attract more long term experiences, like relationships or jobs or apartments? I might hang more art on my walls. I may live a financially stable life. I could get a pet rabbit and name him Benjamin. I would buy really nice furniture. Including a bigger dining room table so I could host dinner parties.
I want to be a cactus.
During our walk through the Biosfera, there was a sharp, tangible moment where I saw Mexico in a different way. I looked at the spiky cacti, some of which looked like birthday candles with their long, thin bodies poking out of the ground and delicately scratching the pinkish-gray sky, their silhouettes matted against a misty mountain backdrop, as our (rather handsome) guide led us toward the famous Elephant Paw trees that were standing tall and proud when Cortes arrived in 1521, and I really fully understood that there is no where on this planet even comparable to Mexico. If I stayed here 6 lifetimes I wouldn’t discover it all. And I thought it might be nice to spend this (or a lot of this) lifetime getting to know as much of it as I could. What a lovely relief that would be.
And so, magical Mexico, I choose you. Maybe forever, or maybe not, but I’m ready to mentally put down some roots and see where that leads me.
*Thank you Carolina, for your insight.
With love,
Bethany
