Ruin Is a Gift

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If you know me at all.. you know that I love to watch those sappy movies that are all about sharing feelings and getting to know other places and cultures. One of my favorite movies and actresses is Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love. Just a short summary she travels the world trying to find herself again after a really bad breakup. Now I haven't had to deal with a big heartache recently, but I have had to change a lot in the last couple years. The decisions I have made in the last couple years have impacted my life in ways I never thought possible. They are nothing similar to what Julia experiences in her story, but they are similar in the way I learn and appreciate things so much more. One of my favorite quotes from the story is " Ruin is a gift". This weekend after having to teach the kids in the community center a whole new curriculum of English to them without having nothing prepared beforehand, and then having to deal with the heat, and missing my family on a big holiday I find myself still finding so much Joy in the little moments. I was happier then I have ever been just spending time with the kids, and meeting the parents. There was no time to be afraid, concerned, or upset about something I knew was out of my reach to control. Then I thought how is it that this city still carries so much love for their traditions and their culture. This city is filled with tradition from the Mayan culture, to the city lights and sounds during the evening it is all beautiful.

One of the greatest experiences was seeing Chichen Itza for the first time. Knowing i had the opportunity to see one of the modern seven wonders of the world was exhilarating in itself, but actually walking around the grounds is unbelievable. You feel as if the place was built from extraordinary people and everything around it was built just by ordinary people trying to live their lives. At one point we were in a small yellow city where people had a Mayan ruin in their backyard. Imagine spending quality time there! Anyways my point is that even though it may seem the world is different than who we are, and although it seems we may fail at some points, being ruined isn't bad. It truly is a gift. Leaving a ruin so that the world may see is helping others learn that this world is much bigger than just problems. It is beautiful. WE ARE HERE TO PROGRESS together and that is the greatest gift anyone can receive.





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