Chillin' with the Mayans
A clipped healed-over iguana tail stuck out of the
wall from between the 2000-year-old carved Mayan stones of an ancient ruin. He seemed content to chill there in the shade
and let us watch him and contemplate his fate.
He lives now where a great civilization once thrived. Today, along with the lizards, this is a
place teeming with awed tourists and hustlers probing for pesos. Chichen Itza, with its massive storied
pyramid and carved stone structures is a city-reminder of how an advanced
culture can suddenly and inexplicably disappear. We are left to decipher their lives from what
we uncover in the forests, from ancient stories written in pictorial relief on
the walls, from geometry and architecture and art. Their skills in astronomy were unprecedented,
and if we are to believe the science in their structures, their math skills
were outstanding. They enjoyed lives
rich with symbolic metaphor. I
struggled to grasp our transient nature and to get a grip on a tiny piece of
the big picture. This was vacation.
The ancient city of Chichen Itza was a highlight
of our vitamin D-rich escape. Other highlights
included anchoring my feet in the fine white sands where drips of sunlight
freckled my skin; staring out at the rolling turquoise ocean from beneath a
rustling palm frond; eating fresh pineapple and kiwis as large as my fist; cooling
off in the pool where drinks at the swim-up bar were made to order; imagining
myself as the frigatebird or pelican flying weightless in the on-shore breeze
overhead. The grey dreariness of PA was
burned out of our brains by day two, and the white sands and blue blue waters
calmed the frenzied brainwaves. We had
disconnected. No internet. No news.
No life except the one in the sun.
And so…. Note to self:
a late winter vacation to warm sunny climes should happen every year. I’m
back now, and while my productivity is still surprisingly high, I can feel the
world encroaching again on my good vibes.
I cling yet to the still-tactile sense of well-being. Tempus fugit, but I am reminded that there
really are ways to recharge and stop time for just a moment. I am reminded to define my life instead of
waiting for it to define me. I am
reminded that there is a big picture to appreciate and I don’t do nearly enough
of that. I am reminded of the vastness
of this tiny pale blue dot and that unless I turn around in, and every once in
a while leave my crack in the wall, I’ll miss quite a lot.
A clipped healed-over iguana tail stuck out of the
wall from between the 2000-year-old carved Mayan stones of an ancient ruin. He seemed content to chill there in the shade
and let us watch him and contemplate his fate.
He lives now where a great civilization once thrived. Today, along with the lizards, this is a
place teeming with awed tourists and hustlers probing for pesos. Chichen Itza, with its massive storied
pyramid and carved stone structures is a city-reminder of how an advanced
culture can suddenly and inexplicably disappear. We are left to decipher their lives from what
we uncover in the forests, from ancient stories written in pictorial relief on
the walls, from geometry and architecture and art. Their skills in astronomy were unprecedented,
and if we are to believe the science in their structures, their math skills
were outstanding. They enjoyed lives
rich with symbolic metaphor. I
struggled to grasp our transient nature and to get a grip on a tiny piece of
the big picture. This was vacation.
The ancient city of Chichen Itza was a highlight
of our vitamin D-rich escape. Other highlights
included anchoring my feet in the fine white sands where drips of sunlight
freckled my skin; staring out at the rolling turquoise ocean from beneath a
rustling palm frond; eating fresh pineapple and kiwis as large as my fist; cooling
off in the pool where drinks at the swim-up bar were made to order; imagining
myself as the frigatebird or pelican flying weightless in the on-shore breeze
overhead. The grey dreariness of PA was
burned out of our brains by day two, and the white sands and blue blue waters
calmed the frenzied brainwaves. We had
disconnected. No internet. No news.
No life except the one in the sun.
And so…. Note to self:
a late winter vacation to warm sunny climes should happen every year. I’m
back now, and while my productivity is still surprisingly high, I can feel the
world encroaching again on my good vibes.
I cling yet to the still-tactile sense of well-being. Tempus fugit, but I am reminded that there
really are ways to recharge and stop time for just a moment. I am reminded to define my life instead of
waiting for it to define me. I am
reminded that there is a big picture to appreciate and I don’t do nearly enough
of that. I am reminded of the vastness
of this tiny pale blue dot and that unless I turn around in, and every once in
a while leave my crack in the wall, I’ll miss quite a lot.
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