Posted by fayeroe on July 7, 2009, at 15:25:13
In reply to Re: would I do it when I'm happy? ***triggers***, posted by Timne on July 7, 2009, at 14:20:04
> > When you talk about the location where your friend lives and how hard it is to get realistic help..it causes me to think that your friend might live near Santa Fe, NM>
>
> I know that area well, and it typifies the milieu to which I refer. Thing that draws people to that place especially is not just the ambient mysticism, but also the deep, grounded indigenous culture - not just "aboriginal", but also a long-term largely hispanic culture as old as that which sprang from Plymouth rock, sans urbanism.
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> Having retreated to such an environment, do you think a person could then find solace in a more urbanized environment?
>
>
> I lived in Pilar, south of Taos, for ten years and I enjoyed it very much. A Spanish village of 125 people and I was worked very hard to fit in and practice gardening, and such, as the villagers did. I wasn't i nterested in the "superficial life" in Taos or Santa Fe.I learned to do things by the moon and I listened to the elders. I frequently would visit a man who lived near the mesa and we might sit in silence for 3 or 4 hours. My closest neighbor was the mother of the man I dated. Onita was in her 80s and taught me many things about myself.
At that time I was working on a book on indian rodeo and that was a bone of contention several times with the man I dated while there. He was 1/2 spanish and 1/4 apache and 1/4 navajo. The Spanish are outspoken in their feelings towards anglos and indians.
I found a group of like minded women, who think out of the box, and we opened our own gallery. In our group we had some women whose lives were very balanced. We started meeting twice a week and I can honestly say that I learned more about myself in ten years than I had learned in the previous 45.
It was a time of great healing and growth for me and I believe that your friend could benefit from that space. The thing to watch out for are the people who literally dropped out of another society and moved there. For the most part those people are very bitter and, in a way, lost.
One more thing, I owned a bed and breakfast and I believe that being around so many different people from different cultures and environments helped me sort my priorities out in a positive manner.
Pat
p.s. When I moved back to Oklahoma, I went to our ranch and stayed there (2+years) until I felt that I could integrate myself back into a space that was going to be faster and more hectic. I now live in a very small town in Texas. I would go back and do everything the same if I felt that it would be beneficial.
poster:fayeroe
thread:905409
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20090624/msgs/905496.html