Tribal (Let’s Dance)

“How can anyone entering a bookstore leave without at least one book?”  overheard in the new “Indigo Spirit” bookstore on Granville St.

When I heard the above comment, it made me smile; I knew then I was in good company and that, yes, I would be leaving the store with that book that first caught my eye.

I am always happy when I meet or come upon someone from my “tribe”. My tribe consists of people who seek out books or the printed word, curious folk who travel (either physically or through other mediums) , all manner of musicians, people who love the making and tasting of good food – in short, anyone who is engaged with the world and open to connection.

The word connection came to mind one day recently as I made my way through my West End world, I was alone going about my day to day and noticed that almost everyone I saw had their heads down, earphones in, totally engrossed with their various devices. It was unnerving to not have a connection with my neighbours or visitors, to feel separate and not part of the tribe. No wonder so many of us are feeling isolated and disconnected from human interaction, these devices create acceptable barriers, we can hide from the world if we want or use these devices to distract us if there are tough things to deal with or get through. I personally like spending some time connecting with friends and family via the internet – I enjoy writing my blog and connecting with other writers, hopefully closing my lap top to feel uplifted and eager to visit their words again.

I think the key to living with our various devices is to curate our time with them, to edit our usage and create space for connection. As I experienced at the bookstore opening, it was heartening to see my tribe wandering the stacks, clutching books and engaging with the various displays. They seemed happy to once again have a “bricks and mortar” store in our downtown, it made me wonder, how many reading devices were left at home, myself included? As previous generations learned to adjust to using both candlelight and electricity, I believe that we can live in this modern world enjoying the gifts of technology, enjoying both the physical and digital mediums available to us.

In Mexico and here in the West End (especially this morning, on a much drier and sunnier day) connections are always present, that other day, thankfully, is not the norm and if we are willing to cultivate moments of connection, hopefully it will never be.

Journal Entry: November 17, 2011

After a long Sunday (Nov.13th) of travelling, it was magical to find ourselves eating at a new “hole in the wall” restaurant called “Burrito Revolution”. We had the most delicious burrito (pollo) ever. It’s located on Badillo in our neighbourhood. The magical part was watching the moon rise over the jungle-covered mountains. The owners treated us to some very smooth tequila shots, they have another restaurant (their first one) in Sayulita. We met some great people eating there as well.

These past few days have found us exploring a very different yet same P.V. It has grown a lot. There are many new vendors, food carts, shops and eating places. Familiar places are gone or have moved to other streets.

We are starting to get our routines down for food shopping, we’ve been to the “Tortilla factory” twice already! We re-discovered the “Farmacia” where we can pick up the odd thing we need close by, otherwise we trek to “Ley’s” in Centro.

Some favourite images: walking on the new malecon on Sunday evening with our backpacks feeling the warmth of a 89 degree F day (dust included!) on our way to the “Janitzio” and our studio. On Tues. Nov. 15th heading to the malecon to watch African dancing and drumming at the “Los Arcos Amphitheater” – lots of beautiful energy and colour, we didn’t want it to end!

The List (for Huguette)

1) Watching the return of the herons, they are like sentinels as they stand on the chimney stacks and neighbouring roofs waiting for their tribe to arrive so they can once again inhabit the nests perched in the trees at the edge of Stanley Park

2) Morning walks before shopping, to count all the new growth in the gardens and in the park

3) The sadness and the thrill of seeing a Cooper’s hawk take an unwary crow in it’s talons and sit with it’s prize on a roof top just outside our living room windows, a murder of crows descending to other roof tops to “caw” and mourn their fellow tribe member

4) Stepping out yesterday, despite the wind and rain, to blow the cobwebs away from too many days of darkness, to see what the afternoon might reveal and noting the trees so filled with raindrops that they looked like they were draped in rare gems

5) The robins are back, too – they are eating all the bright berries and filling the air with their drunken songs, it means that Spring is coming…

Drumming and Dancing on the Malecon in P.V.