SkeletonMan

I came to Mexico because it feels like a home I don’t fully know yet.

With the hope of reconnecting with old relationships and creating new ones.

But old habits got in the way.

I got so caught up in plans and expectations that I didn’t see what was right in front of me - the people, the places, the opportunity for real connections.

Instead, I saw my own ideas about them.

It’s a comfortable way of being in the world where we can try to create order and predictability.

Often, it just becomes part of everyday routine.

But it also creates distance.

The philosopher Martin Buber describes this as the difference between an I–It and an I–Thou relationship.

In I–It, we turn the world into something we can understand and categorize.

In I–Thou, we meet what is without a filter.

It was only when I started to feel myself again that something shifted.

Not by trying harder.
Not by finding better strategies.

Just by being more present with what I was actually experiencing.

And slowly, the feeling of isolation began to dissolve.

And to my surprise and joy things also started happening (more about that soon).

Until then warm greetings from Mexico and Baljalla 🌿

Michael

Before arriving in Mexico I had a lot of ideas and plans for my time here. But looking back I think I was dead wrong about a basic thing.

I thought my "success" was measured in what I created here. That I had leave something concrete and material behind to feel accomplished.

But that’s not what’s really driving me and it was something much simpler that showed me this:

I started going to the beach every day.

Not to think.
Not to figure anything out.
Just to be there.

And honestly?
It was harder than I expected.

Thoughts showed up fast:
“Shouldn’t I be doing something?”
“Is this a waste of time?”

That quiet pressure to always be productive.

But when I let that go .. something else happened.

The sun and the shade.
The ocean.
The breeze.

Not as thoughts.
But as experiences.

And it feels really good to actually register my feelings and stay in contact with them.

Why would I not enjoy spending time on a nice, sunny beach, shade in place, cooler with food and something to drink, reading a little if I want to, the ocean right there to play and cool down in, running into friends and other beach goers?!

It´s like I’m only just learning what it means to actually be in time and place. Not just to "get something out of it" (whatever that means).

The strange part is:

The less I try to direct my attention towards some fancy goals I have concocted, the more I actually experience and receive.

Calm.
Joy.
Presence.

Towards myself and towards others.

Less agenda.
More connection.

I don’t know where it leads. I don´t even know if it´s a phase (I hope not).

But it feels like a healthy place to begin.

So... if you ever happen to see me on my big beach carpet at Cerritos (or anywhere else) feel free to DROP BY ANYTIME.

And let´s do absolutely NOTHING of any importance for a little while 🏖

ps: Thanks to .smejkal for pointing out the dead bird right in front of us!! I guess there´s still room for even more presence 🥳