You Are Here and Now

This morning I felt a bit homesick for fall.

I think Facebook is to blame.  I realize that the sweltering hot summer is only just beginning to cool off into the start of autumn in the US, but fall is clearly on its way.  Every post I read this morning seemed to be about hiking amidst the changing leaves, drinking pumpkin spice lattes, enjoying football tailgates, and reporting on sudden mountain snowfalls.  It had me a bit nostalgic for my favorite time of year.  Add in the cloudy and gloomy weather here in Lima, and I was feeling a bit down.

So I decided to get out of our isolated 9th story apartment and into the world.  I took a walk to the coastline, which is just four blocks from our apartment here in Miraflores, Lima.  As I sat on a bench, watching ambitious surfers in wetsuits tackle the freezing waves, the universe smacked me across the face with a healthy dose of gratitude.

Less than a week ago I was hiking in the mountainous jungle of Machu Picchu.  And now, I was sitting on a bench in a beautifully manicured urban park, on a cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Is this really my life?  And am I really complaining about it?

Missing the familiar is only natural when you are traveling, so sometimes I indulge in the 20 minute pity party.  But it only took a few minutes sitting in the ocean breeze to snap out of it.  I’m pretty sure I could find one or two people who would trade a year’s worth of falling leaves and pumpkin spice lattes for what I’ve got going on.  There’s not much room for pity here.

Later in my walk I ran across the graffiti pictured above, stenciled on a wall overlooking the sea, and it made me smile.  (Of course I would stumble across such a yogic saying right when I needed it.)  It translates as “You are here and now.”  Sometimes you just need an external reminder of something you already know.

So as the graffiti (and every yoga teacher worldwide) commands, I’ll be here, now.  I’ll hush up about missing fall, and enjoy all of the amazingness in front of me.

Well said, graffiti.  Well said.