What To Do When You Have No Answers :: Stop Thinking

::No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.::

- John Donne, No Man Is An Island 

Moving to Mexico has been one of the bigger moves I've made in my life.  After high school, I left New Orleans for Lafayette, LA.  After college, I left Lafayette for New Orleans, stayed a year, moved to Austin, TX for a few years, back to New Orleans for another year, and headed to Berkeley, CA. for graduate school.  After three years in Berkeley I was led back to Austin via a job offer, and remained there to build a life with my children  for the next twenty years.  

My youth is tethered to cast iron, summer rain showers and real French bread with its' crunchy top and big fluffy holes that melt when you take a bite.  My adulthood is linked to the smell of baby urine on carpet  - children and kittens - limestone infused with cedar and long term friendships.  The maps of both merged through the magic of cartography.  Cast Iron became the living plants surrounding not Live Oaks, but Scrub Oaks.  An oscillating garden hose simulated summer rain showers in the backyard of our city house, and formed layers for icecicles on the canopy of the oak motte nestled next to our cabin at the ranch.

In this year and a half of living and working in Mérida I've struggled with staying.   There is no consistent theme running through the desire to leave.  A few days ago I felt driven to drive out because I missed the smell of my daughter.  On another occasion I missed the familiar accents of home - the twang of Texans and the port city yat of New Orleans.  Some days I just can't bear to hear one more word in Spanish.  My brain is frozen and overtaxed.  

I came back from my Christmas holiday with a renewed love of place and home - Mérida.  I had that uncomfortable dizziness those living abroad experience when they re-enter their former lives.  Culture shock was a dark shadow around excessive amounts of technology, dependence on a vehicle and inflated food cost.  On the other hand, I was surrounded by people who love me, inspired to make an art practice and reminded to rethink my paradigm choice.  I am not stuck here or anywhere.  In fact, I am more free to think, breathe, and expand than at any other time in my life.  

I sit down with myself and have a little talk.  It begins with this sentence, "SHUT THE F@*%K UP ALREADY!  RE-THINK YOUR MAP!"  Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!  Cartographers have to address many issues when they create a new map.  Here is my check list:

• Address physical and abstract space!
• What is three dimensional stays three dimensional!
• Simplify, simplify, simplify!
•  Venn diagram!   

 











Create the life you want! 
The Broad  






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