Article by Montserrat   -  Photo by Luis Sierra
I am a firm believer that you should steer life and not let life steer you.  This is why “safe zones” should be revisited once in a while and renamed as “danger zones”.  Now, don’t get me wrong, safe zones are nice.  They are a breath of fresh air or a nice warm bath, unfortunately, our skin gets tired of “fresh” air when it starts getting too cold, or, to the contrary, your skin starts to wrinkle under the over exposure to warm water.  My point is, we need to be open to change.  Based on this I decided to modify my future, whatever that was, and do a career change.  Scary, right? It gets better, trust me.

A few months ago I was researching schools in the area.  I am at a point in my life where I want to decide towards my happiness internally and not let external influences completely decide for me.  One of the school advisors asked me the question that titles this blurb; “What do you want from life?”  Now, keep in mind that the advisor was reading from a list of scripted questions she needed me to answer in order to assess who I was and what program suited me best.  Before I could think of what to say, (as we all tend to do in situations like this), I blurted out; “experiences”.

Without even thinking I had pulled her from her automated interview and she stared blankly into my eyes, as if I was from a different planet.  “Interesting,” she said.  The rest of the interview was completely uninteresting so I’m not even going to bother with details.  Where I want to take you is that in these “interesting” times we tend to oversee and forget about our experiences.

For example, I love to jog.  It gives me privacy, keeps me healthy, clears my mind and brings me peace.  There is an adorable wildlife sanctuary close to my home. In this hidden paradise endangered species, which might have been injured or may have no means of fending for themselves, are protected, nourished and brought to health, and if possible, released into the wild again.  I plug in my headphones with my ancient music player filled with my favorite music.  I pump up the volume and go.  I run around the 5 miles of trails with a wide variety of sights, ranging from thick forests to wetlands, across small ponds where ducks, geese, and swans stare at me blankly while gliding over the waters.  Sometimes you will get to see deer running from you, jumping highly above the bushes and you cannot avoid being awed about how swift and poetic their galloping is.  I even stop in my tracks running in place while I respectfully wait for a turtle to cross the path.  

During that precious hour there are no gas prices, no economy issues, no human rights transgressions, no primary candidates, no crime, abuse, pain. There is absolutely nothing but me, nature and music.  And these elements, for 60 minutes, encompass what I like to call an “experience”.

Even as I write I am breathless because I can close my eyes and transport myself into this haven.

“Experience”. Women, Latinas, Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, I call onto you to Live.  These “experiences” will be sketched in your memories for years to come.  And these “experiences” will not be taken away from you.  Yes, there are problems, and there is work, and there are families and friends and jobs to tend to.  But it only takes one; simple, even short, to give you infinite moments of personal smiles for the soul.  It might be difficult, but trust me, it is not impossible to achieve “experiences”.

All right, I have shared an experience with you.  Now I want you to share experiences with others.  Click on the little “comment” button below and tell me about your most cherished experience.  Tell me about childbirth, establishing your new business, going back to college or renewing your life.  All is game; meanwhile, I’ll just sit and wait.