By Tere Ruiz
All the people who live in Lake Chapala have different kinds of beliefs, ages, culture and background. This is such a cosmopolitan place to live in. In Lake Chapala you may have friends of all ages, either locals or foreigners, who come from big cities or small villages, who’ve had education to the highest levels or who haven’t, and everyone comes from different countries. All of these people had experiences unique to just them. Some experienced war; others the birth of modern technology. Most let their experiences shape them; a few may have missed the entire flavor of an experience.
All the people here are very different and yet the same in their attitude of caring and sharing.
For all these reasons this is a wonderful place to live, as you can learn so many things about life that you haven’t had the chance to experience, and also because most of the people who live here are willing to share their abilities, knowledge, beliefs and help for others.
As you mingle in this community, you have the opportunity to understand many things and why people act the way they do. You get to learn the real world as you merge into the different cultures and realize that we are all human and because of our different backgrounds, we learned to believe in one way, but this might not necessarily be the whole truth…just our truth.
Some people think that compassionate love means feeling pity for others, but what it really means is to love each other no matter their condition, to understand why people do the things they do and love them anyway. When you love compassionately, you look at the real human beings who are standing in front of you, the whole person, not just the label that they have or that someone gave them. Not for what you think of them, but for who they really are.
In Lake Chapala we are not foreigners, Mexicans, old, young, poor, rich, educated or not educated. Some may know how to read, some might not. Some may be lawyers, some might be mechanics. Some are good on computers and some don’t even have one or don’t even know how to turn them on. Some are sick, some are healthy…but we are all human beings and we help each other; we teach and learn from each other, we hold hands with each other.
It is wonderful when we can learn from each other, to understand the mindset of somebody who had a completely different life than yours, to listen to a veteran, to listen to an old local who remembers what this place looked like 50 years ago, to listen to a young man who grew up in this world of technology, to talk to a woman who lives in a small village, to learn from a lady who traveled around world and saw so many wonderful things with her own eyes… Lakeside could be considered a utopia for some people, even for some who live here but don’t share this experience, but for a vast part of the community who live here, it is real. In Lake Chapala we learn to listen and understand and to respect other human beings, no matter their background, their age, their culture or their skin color. Nobody here has a label, we’ve just had a different life… we just have a different background.
Putting all this experiences together enhances our lives. It is like taking away a cover from the eyes, it is like when you learn to read and you have access to all this information that wakes up your imagination, your creativity, your desire to live, to be active part of this new life.
Christmas and the celebration of the beginning of a New Year is a time of love and sharing and I think most of you will agree that in Lake Chapala we have love and sharing all year round. Every day is a new opportunity to love compassionately, to be patient and take in consideration the background of the person we are interacting with. In any case, we always have the opportunity to plant the seed of love in their lives to help them know better.
As always, I invite you to come on a Focus on Mexico Program to judge by yourself and experience the celebration of life, of new beginnings, of accomplishing what you’ve always dreamed of and why not, of learning from others and sharing what you already are.
May the Holidays be a celebration of Love, Light, Joy and Magic for you and all your beloved ones.
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Tere Ruiz-Rodarte: Director of Research and Development FocusOnMexico.
Focus On Mexico offers 8-Day Educational Programs to Ajijic and Lake Chapala, Mexico (2nd Best Climate in the World). Join us on a Focus program and learn why thousands of Americans and Canadians chose to retire in Lake Chapala.
Our programs offer the perfect balance; a wonderful vacation and an insightful, educational experience. Our expert speakers cover all topics: Health Care, Real Estate, Legal System, Immigration, Bringing Pets, Cost of Living, US Taxes for Americans, Non-Residency for Canadians, Living on the Lakeside, Investing in Mexico, Mexican Economy and much more...
You’ll get everything you need to help you decide if Lake Chapala, Mexico is the place for you, plus have a lot of fun doing it. Retiring in Mexico couldn't be better.