Burning Hands and Contentment

I am on fire. Lit up with inspiration. Gratitude flows within and without like water. Flowing. Like the blue-green afternoon tide of the lake. Lake Atitlán. Gratitude Abundant. Truly. Where do I begin?

I have been dancing circles here in La Cambalacha for the past two weeks. Like a crazy woman I run from teaching a morning yoga class - to translating a word document - to helping Lola and Angela with lunch in the kitchen (while dancing to the latest evangelical tunes on the radio) - to inventing a thousand afternoon games to entertain the youngsters whose attention span is fleeting - to dressing up in costume and getting in character for a dance/culture class with the 12 and 13 year-olds who are sometimes difficult to motivate - to talking long hours in the night with Gabriela (the founder and director of La Cambalacha who is an extraordinary dancer and has me hooked on learning Hip Hop) and Cambalacha family - to skipping happily down to the lake to bathe body and soul in morning sun rays - to walking arm and arm with María who fills my heart with joy the color of sunshine and rain - to choreographing dances for local children to perform in the upcoming town festival - to riding in the back of a pickup to the neighboring village to share art, music, ecology classes with the students in primary school - to contemplating the reason that children tend to go crazy on rainy days and trample upon your words and good intentions - to being reminded that children are made of rainbow colors -- sometimes dark with disrespect and ungratefulness, other times vibrant yellow and orange with laughter, songs and engaged imaginations. Each day, I arrive at my bedside absolutely exhausted and smiling; smiling at the good fortune of being here in La Cambalacha.

From the moment I returned to the shores of San Marcos La Laguna, I felt a rush of Contentment rise in my soul. Manifesting in a Gracious Smile. A smile that says Thank You to each and every breath that has carried me here. Life is Intense here in La Cambalacha. There is always much work to be done. Not only are we dedicated to facilitating the artistic development of nearly 2,500 children on the shores of Lago Atítlan; we are committed to living in community. On Fire with Intensity. The heartbeat of the day, powerful.

I feel strangely inarticulate as I listen to the evening rain. Swimming in such emotion, amazement, marvel as my life unfolds minute by minute. Two weeks on Fire passing with little opportunity to express in words the rhythms, sentiments, thoughts, emotions I am feeling strongly, like drumbeats, like a rainstorm, in my organs, in my breath, in my smile. A pause from writing due to Burning Hands. Swollen. Red Blistered. An overdose of acidic fruit and sunshine? A mean herb? A caterpillar? Animal Urine falling in the night? A strange spirit? I do not know exactly what happened to my hands. But they swelled up like balloons and put on an ugly mask of blisters and puss. In the healing process, my extraordinary living body generated an entire new layer of skin, allowing the old, dark, burned skin to peel away, piece by piece. Strange, powerful occurrence. When studying the Mayan calendar with a group of beautiful sisters one evening, I see the Tarot card that speaks of my sign and my nahual (animal spirit guide). My hands are in fire. I burned myself the last time I was here. Burned myself in the kitchen cutting Chiles. A down home Virginia girl unaccustomed to cooking with chiles picantes. Que locura.

Please take a look at the website of La Cambalacha. It is beautifully crafted. It gives you a glimpse of what we are doing here in San Marcos La Laguna. How we are singing, dancing, playing, sharing, creating and opening our hearts to the power of art and collaboration. I will be participating in a fantastic Cambalacha Parade on the 15th of September. I am learning to twirl a vibrant golden flag while dancing to the drumbeats of percussion and marveling at the clown faces and fun of the stilt walkers. Singing ... singing ... singing. I will try to write more frecuently. For now -- www.lacambalacha.org

Abundant Gratitude. Love. Learning. And lots of Rain that does keep us from living like Fire.

www.lacambalacha.org