The Nurturing Land of Enchantment

It’s 7:19pm on a Friday. Just over one week of life in the Southwest. Just under one week of life being 30 years young(ish).

Land of Enchantment is no lie. The streets whisper secrets in the wind. But you must pay attention and be at ease in every moment to appreciate the wonder.

Even in the busiest of plaza streets there is an emptiness that is welcoming. A bit haunting through the winding roads, increasing curiosity and awareness like a beckoning call you cannot refuse.

New Mexico is unlike a place I’ve experienced so far in my travels. I’m brought back to my time in Byron Bay, Australia quite often. The slower lifestyle, the rolling landscape and bluest of skies. The funky style of clothing and the people always smiling and carefully looking you in the eye when they create small talk.

I’m waking as the sun rises and early to bed with a book as the darkness encompasses the mountain. I am enthused by the day ahead walking the dogs and caring for their health and wellbeing, in turn heightening my awareness of my nutrition and exercise. The late mornings are for coffee and work in various cafes around town. This cures my loneliness as I love to people watch and understand I am in a new place, quickly becoming home.

The evenings are for my body. Finding a yoga studio I highly resonate with across from Our Lady Guadalupe’s altar. I leave practice with a cold sweat and excitement to find the moon and greet the stars. To send Lady Guadalupe a message of gratitude and request for protection amongst her flickering candles. Her presence and imagery, a remembering in my bones I cannot yet explain.

The vibration is high, but again, only to those tuned in. And a lot of people are tuned in. I have yet to hear gossip amongst friends or horns honked followed by a middle finger. There’s a peace, this feeling I’ve been seeking without luck, now found and appreciated. Swallowing me whole.

I walk the dogs through the rocks and red clay and feel the sun peak over the mountaintop, finally warming our skin. I see and experience the vastness of Mother Nature all around me. I take a mental photograph and tell myself to remember this sense of peace, this stillness, this not-so-special moment and understand that I can feel this at all times. This is cultivated presence.

My travels and ungrounded-ness have led me to find my soul. I could have found myself in any place, I’ve always been here. However, our environments are triggering, encouraging, demanding, surprising and loving. The places I’ve lived, the people I’ve met, the ones I’ve loved and lost, the jobs I’ve cared for, the ones I would rather forget… These are all valuable lessons and time well spent as I’ve learned who I am and what I truly need.

I need nurturing.

I’ve found a place that supports my needs to feel present, to be nurtured, to feel understood and encourage creativity. I have found a peace within that will continue to grow stronger and more at ease with whatever life’s challenges are to come.

This is a written promise to myself.

Don’t deny your inner wisdom. Your truth and the beauty of your existence.