Guatemala English language Magazine
What distinguishes Día del cariño from the popularized Valentine’s Day celebrations is that in Central America the day is primarily about all relationships and those we care for, about letting friends know you care for them, assuring family and partners of your love for them. Gifts aren’t the most important thing—the emphasis here is on quality time instead and being with those you most care about.
Read moreA great challenge in life is to see ourselves as we really are. It’s one of those twisted tricks the universe plays on us! Our image of ourselves has been carefully pieced together from what we can see in the mirror (though often with blinders), from what we’ve learned about ourself through personal experiences, and by internalizing the judgments of […]
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Life is a process of becoming. From the moment of birth the process begins through a combination of the stages we go through—infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood. In the early stages we move from one to another because there isn’t any choice. We can’t spend the rest of our lives in diapers or dragging around our security blanket! Many times during […]
Read moreThere is a human tendency to plug into that part of our nature that gravitates toward a groove and settles comfortably into it. Movement and growth come from surprises, serendipitous encounters, a nudge or even a hard shove. These moments, however small, are important, for they remind us that we always have the power of choice. The real challenge is […]
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Life is often full of canto rodados (boulders) that stop us dead in our tracks. Those earthly problems threaten to absorb some or all emotional, physical and material resources. The meek play ostrich by sticking their head in the sand, thinking it will magically disappear; the mighty recoil in the shadow of the “procrastinator”—the Chief Constable of Manaña. A normal […]
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In some ways we’re wired like a computer. We receive “interrupt signals” informing us that something is demanding attention. We have similar choices about how to respond, like pausing the “program” we’re running or to ignore the signal. While hardware interrupts are hard to ignore, software ones are subtle and insidious. Appropriately, they’re also called “a trap.” Our busy doing-and-thinking […]
Read moreLove is in the air! Cupid’s bow is drawn and his wings are rustling. Whether the legend is the feast in honor of Juno, the goddess of women and marriage, the Roman St. Valentine, or the mating time of birds, around the globe, Valentine’s Day has traditionally been a celebration of romance. In some cultures, the Valentine’s Day festival has […]
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We all like a bit of a scare. As children we’ve gathered under blankets with flashlights and spooked each other with ghost stories. Even while in diapers and growing sea legs we threw on a sheet and screamed “Boo!” As far back in human history fairytales have been scary. On All Saints Day we satiate the desire to scare and […]
Read moreA wise mother bestowed upon her daughter a pearl of wisdom, “You have to find your own equation in life.” The pearl, encased in love and freedom, guided the daughter as she danced through life unencumbered by the equations of others. The daughter’s mother wasn’t talking about quadratic or cubic equations; she was referring to the human equation. Nevertheless, all […]
Read moreLife is a huge canvas onto which we can throw as much paint as we wish. A divine gift is the power to create whatever we want. It’s woven into the fabric of our being. Since we’re hardwired to create, we hold the brush with which to design the life we choose. Are you creating a masterpiece? Or are you […]
Read moreWhen you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror are you happy with the person who greets you? If you look yourself directly in the eye do you quickly look away? Before we put on our face and plunge into the day, what we see is who we are. Raw and exposed, we’re packaged up by the […]
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Deeply ingrained in human nature is the intense yearning to be appreciated. As Mother Teresa said, “There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.” To be appreciated feels like our birthright, which is probably why we have high expectations. Feeling unappreciated tops the list of universal human complaints. We’ve all heard others lament, “They […]
Read moreWhen we cease to stumble all over ourselves, the path we trod in life becomes far less bumpy and boulders become pebbles! When something or someone treads on our path we stumble all over ourselves to get between them and us. Like a peacock we puff up, fan out our feathers and prance about. Armed with ammunition the old faithful […]
Read moreWhat a grand masquerade takes place on the great world stage! As Shakespeare pointed out we’re all mere players with entrances and exits. The masks we’ve chosen reflect the parts we play. With any luck we’ve also selected the parts—otherwise, they were probably hand-me-downs. Our mask has become the thing we always carry around with us; it’s our presentation—our storefront. […]
Read moreWe position our thoughts around three points—the past, the future and the present, which is tightly squeezed in between. A quirk of ours is to orbit around the past. Living in the past, we rehash, recreate and regret. Although the past makes us sad or even mad, it’s often preferable to the future, which usually makes us scared. There’s no […]
Read moreWe were given two hands to hold, two legs to walk, two eyes to see—but why only one heart, some ask? Romantics like to believe it’s because the second heart was given to someone else for us to find. This creates warm, fuzzy feelings of optimism. The search for the “other” is fueled by Hollywood, literature and lyrics—it’s the stuff […]
Read moreSpace isn’t a concept our minds can easily wrap itself around. It’s not tangible, nor can it be perceived by any of the senses. The ego, which thrives on control, is gripped by fear at the notion of boundless regions of the infinite! This empty space—what is it? Space is to growth what air is to the breath. All living […]
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The word “home” is strong, magical and filled with the power to invoke deep sensations. It’s an English word which is virtually impossible to translate into other tongues. No translation catches the associations, the mixture of memory and longing, the sense of security and the freedom from wariness that cling to the word. There’s no universal definition for home because […]
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Most of us would take great offense if someone were to suggest that we’re not the master of our life. Reality can be harsh. If we look it squarely in the face, we’d probably see that we’re far from being the master! Who is the master then? It should come as no surprise that it’s Master Ego who holds the […]
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Movement is intrinsic to the cosmos. Every point in the entire universe is in motion. The Earth and planets continually revolve around each other, and the galaxy’s stars are constantly circling its center. We can see the rhythm of movement everywhere. Seasons pass into each other, seedlings sprout through soil, days turn into nights and beginnings flow into endings. Nothing […]
Read moreAs children we stuck fingers in our ears whenever our mothers and grannies expounded on the virtues of disappointments in life—dark clouds lined with silver … doors closing and opening … light a candle instead of complaining about the darkness. Even as adults we turn a deaf ear to such platitudes. When life doesn’t deal us the stack of cards […]
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Age is a taboo like religion, sex and money. Next time you’re at a fiesta try asking people, “Do you believe in God? Do you have good sex? How much money do you earn? And, by the way, how old are you?” Unless you ask someone under 10 years old, you’ll probably find yourself alone at the punch bowl! It’s […]
Read moreWe are surrounded by time from the moment we open our eyes in the morning until we turn off the light at night. Time is a precious resource, like money, love and good feelings—the more we grasp at it, the more elusive it becomes. Time is a continuum measured by events kicked off with birth and ending with death. It’s […]
Read moreIt’s time to come out of hibernation. Spring is here and it’s the season for movement. Look into the mirror that Mother Nature is holding up to you. See the reflections of the processes of growth, renewal and transformation in her infinite garden and in yours, too. Spring your life forward by applying the principles of spring gardening—a powerful metaphor […]
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Where has passion gone? Unfortunately, the misconceptions surrounding passion have relegated it to one of the “deadly emotions.” It’s not surprising considering the definition: emotions as distinguished from reason: intense, driving or overmastering feeling or conviction. We all want to be civilized, well-balanced and rational beings. So we try to steer clear of those ungainly emotions that drag us into […]
Read moreThe only constant in the world is change, and it’s the nature of all things to be transient and impermanent. Cycles of change are evident everywhere—in the seasons and climate, the changes in society, in the rise and fall of countries and economies and in the stages of life from birth through death. Change is a force that clears away […]
Read moreOne of the great mysteries in life is the exhilaration that comes from falling in love. Every cell in the body vibrates with new love. The heart bursts with energy, the mind swells with dreams and the physical senses become heightened. No wonder we’re seduced by the magic of falling in love! Try something different. Flip the cliché “love is […]
Read moreSince the beginning of time, giving gifts has been an important part of human interaction. Gifts help to define our relationships and to strengthen bonds with family and friends. The list of occasions for gifts is long—birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, Valentine’s day, Mother’s/Father’s day, Bar Mitzvahs, Christmas, weddings…! Anxiety runs high—the “having to;” is it enough; will it be appreciated; and […]
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Although death is a natural and inevitable part of the human experience, how we relate to it is largely influenced by religion and culture. The way people celebrate death reflects their attitude and philosophy about life as well as death. Some cultures fully embrace death and engage with it through a variety of rituals. In Malaysia the body is buried, […]
Read moreFor the most part listening is an art many of us have not yet mastered. A testimony of this lies in the volumes of books that have been written on how to develop listening skills. There are even courses on the topic! It’s truly a mystery that something so simple can be so elusive! In our everyday lives we encounter […]
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