Tags
Backyard Bird Count, being a good neighbor, earthquake survivor needs, jama ecuador, meeting neighbors, perseverance
Jama Ecuador – Little-dog Candy barked and barked and barked at the Gringita, to the family’s amusement….
“Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
How well do you know your neighbors; your neighborhood? If you live in a petite town, you probably know them on a personal level. Hopefully they are ‘good neighbors,’ ones who make you smile, and if they are lucky, your presence makes them smile as well! Once when visiting a friend in a larger city (in Mississippi) I asked about the next-door neighbors. He shrugged and said he didn’t know them. In disbelief I made some general exclamation but kept my stonger reaction in check. Just because a neighbor doesn’t extend the first token gesture — doesn’t mean that you cannot!
After meeting this gentleman, I was invited to the back of the house, where water was stored in a bucket; they cooked on an old tree stump Even though the earthquake stripped them of their belongings, it did not rob them of their dignity and strong spirit. He showed me this snake skin, and we discussed a little snake locally called, ‘.___-bejuco’ becuase it looks like a litte bejuco/vine.
Challenging neighbors have sometimes dotted my past, but I eventually realized they had extreme personal burdens or wounds, which had nothing to do with me. By being neutral, many times I witnessed the softer side emerge. We as humans often don’t take time to consider how uncomfortable the other person’s shoes might be.
After visiting the family with the dog, and the family that cooked on the tree stump, I saw this person across the street. With a pinch of guilt, I ‘only’ waved, but plan to go visit this person soon.
There are many people still in recovery mode on Ecuador’s earthquake-ravaged coastline. I’ve had time to walk slowly through neighborhoods and talk with friends, talk with strangers, and to marvel (and laugh) at children’s natural gift of inner joy. I realized that in good times we often don’t stop to exchange greetings with strangers, and in bad times, we’re so busy trying to survive, that we also forget that others are doing the same. In good times or in bad, we sometimes forget to take time to listen – truly listen…
A four-generation family lives (thrives?) in five ‘basic’ structures at the end of a street near the river in Jama Ecuador. You’ll soon meet them, but here’s a preview via the next six images.
You can barely see her father’s face peering from the window in the background.
Unhibited joy! This was a very unexpected and impromptu photo; it made me smile, and I hope it gives you one as well!
From the vantage point of one vacant corner, ghosts of demolished houses still stand strong.
From 2012 – This was a classic two-story home.
2013 – Across the street from that classic house were others of character…
The greatly-altered views paint contrasting emotions on my soul.
Standing on the empty lot and looking across the street….
Same empty-lot, different view…
One lot behind that same spot are two petite structures. Isabel stares from the window of her little casita made from salvaged boards. You will meet Isabel in a future post.
… The ironic twist to this post is that it started as a post about our neighbors the birds! The Backyard Bird Count is this next weekend (as is Ecuador’s Presidential Election!)… Consider getting to know your feathered neighbors a bit more – hey, by inviting your own neighbors to help count the birds!
Young Jesus enjoys helping others … someone like Jesus would be a perfect one to ask to help count the birds!
*** This post was not ready to publish, and while editing a photo, the cursor leaped out of the frame and vanished, the computer sort of froze, and then it said, ‘Your post has been published.’ I suppose it wanted these stories to be shared sooner and not later!
“We have lost our house, but we will never lose hope.”
Don’t forget the GBBC this weekend!
The Great Backyard Bird Count.
L
Your generous spirit shines through, ready to publish or not. 🙂
Thank you; I’m still tweaking things, but the essence was delivered. thanks for confirming…
you surely met new ‘neighbors’ via the hospital circuit, and i suspect that you brightened their days….
Lovely post, lovely people! We don’t have any neighbours in shouting distance, which works well for me because I like being a hermit! It’s not that I dislike people, it’s because I love silence. 🙂
I am the same way, and though I am happy ‘for now’ with neighbors and sounds of civilization, I miss that total immersion in Nature… even the sound of a refrigerator often distracts me if i’m deep in a painting trance…
Absolutely! 🙍
I am glad your computer chose to upload this wonderful posting or else I may have missed it. Living 48 years in a city of millions and knowing only a handful of them then moving and living in the wilderness I found that I became friends with everyone within miles of my cabin…. isolation sometimes magnifies the need for being close to ones neighbors.
Wow; thank you for such a heart-felt comment! Sometimes it’s important to experience one extreme before one can experience the opposite… A balance somtimes works, spending time in the solace of nature and then short immersions in city life… what often works is the silence, and with silence, one gets in touch with the core of one’s spirit, to incubate, and then to share with others…
Funny how our blog posts take twists and turns. Love this post, Lisa. It is all about community!
So many stories to share, but you know that from your own unique island community… Thanks, Deb!
reminds me of getting to know our costarican neighbors one by one when we lived there and now a whole new set up here in the mountains of Colorado…lovely post. Thanks.
Thank you, Gwen. You are probably meeting a new set of ‘neighbors’ in the temp medical world. Hope things are going well…
I love the way you foster the human spirit and seek ways in which to build a compassionate community. Hugs.
Thank you; the stories continue to flow with almost every person I see here in Jama.. One man came up to me today and asked for help.. I know this person, who almost always had a huge smile and joked a lot. He wasn’st smiling, and it was no joke. It surely took a huge bite out of his integrity to do that, but he was genuine and sincere. He and his family are living in a tent and his concerns are for food for his family. I asked if I could visit his tent site, ask more questions and then tell the world about his story.
Thank you, dear friend, for caring.
We have great neighbors now, but for a while we had the neighbor from hell. He shortened my life by about three years! It’s a crap shoot.
Si; sometimes I wonder why certain people are in my Life’s path. Recently a wise friend stated that maybe it was to teach me how to stand up to bullies!
Bad neighbors certainly help us appreciate the good ones! Thanks, Hugh!
How wonderful, not only to take the time to meet and write about your beautiful life, but to philosophise about it too. I always enjoy your posts, and look forward to more.
Hi Tony! Seeing your comment makes me realize that I opened your post, but —- where did it go?
Am heading back for a second look!
Thank you, as always, for your support!
I am a bit like Pete (above) who lived and worked in large cities before retiring, selling all and moving to Ecuador. Other than work associates and an occasional neighbor we had few neighborhood friends and those were only casual wave in passing friends. Here in San Clemente it seems weird, but we know everyone on a personal basis and share our lives with thousands of real friends. Life is good.
Pete’s comment was refreshing and important; you both share the experience of living in huge cities vs a tranquil area… I remember once I asked my birding friend Michael Godfrey if extended time in a city seemed to exhaust me a bit more each day, what must it be like for an Indian… how did they manage? He replied that they didn’t manage well; they died a little each day from soul rot… or something similar….
Our connection with the earth, the ocean, the forests helps our own spiritual health, which is so very important to to our connection with our neighbors! Thanks so much!
Dear Lisa,
Your continued reporting of the situation in Jama are affecting me profoundly. When I read articles about the consciousness of Human Collective rising in frequency, I sometimes wonder how this is happening. Your stories of the hope and joy of the people is Jama help me to remember that even in the face of poverty, hopelessness and disaster — MANY people in our world are still celebrating LIFE — every day! Not everyone is caught up in contentious political debates, commuting to work in gridlock traffic or wondering which fast food they will choose for lunch today. Thank Goodness for those of us who have their feet on the ground and are working things out with their neighbors and the children that can still jump for JOY. Please keep reporting on the REAL world, Alia
How Lucky are we….. And how lucky your new neighbours now are to have YOU..
ha! thank you! i am still on the coast and spend a large amt of time just visting/one person at a time and listening as cars and trucks go by and leave trails of dust… this area has a long way to go…..
Lovely Lisa! I think modern life in the US makes it hard. People are always in a hurry. It makes me sad.
I can picture your children as ‘lovely neighbors’ – and being an important link to keeping neighborhoods ‘healthy’ regarding friendships….