Changing with the Seasons
Barranco, Lima, Peru
A timeless truth I have learned over and over again, not only on my journeys in other countries but in life, is that everything changes.
As much as we might find ourselves completely happy and fully enjoying something, whether it be a place, a person or situation, things are constantly changing. We cannot go to a cafe every day of the week and enjoy our favorite piece of cake over and over again. After about a week we would no longer enjoy it.
Life is always in a state of motion and flow and change. This is the central teaching of Buddhism and we only have to sit quietly and observe nature to see it before our very eyes.
And so this week, in keeping with the change of seasons from winter to spring, I packed up my simple apartment in Cusco and flew to Lima for a completely new and different experience. From the month of April to July, Cusco will get progressively colder while Lima is current 85 degrees along the coast.
When I lived in Japan, I discovered that the perfect rhythm for me seemed to be like that of the seasons. Ideally, I could live in a place for a season and then I needed a change to have a different experience. And so, as fate and the seasons would have it, I took a plane from Cusco to Lima.
Any move from a city of less than 500,000 to a city of more than 11 million people is quite a shock to the nervous system. I never anticipated that I might actually like it, but I have been pleasantly surprised to have landed in the barrio of Barranco. As has happened too many times I can now count on my journeys, it seems to be another synchronicity. Barranco is one of 43 districts in Lima, Peru, and is considered to be the most romantic and bohemian of all the neighborhoods. It is home to many writers, artists and musicians in Peru, not to mention many coffee shops.
Once again, I have found myself in a new location with new things to explore and new things to write. As I went through my ritual of packing my life and my belongings once again, I thought it was the perfect time to revisit “The Ritual” which I went through once again this past week. It was once again a practice in mindfulness and reflection.
The Ritual
There is a ritual I go through at least once a month. It has become a mindfulness practice, a meditation. You might even call it a wellness practice that has become an anchor for me as I navigate my way through the world.
At least once a month I go through the quiet ritual of completely clearing my entire living space that has been my home for the prior two weeks or a month and pack all of my earthly belongings into one bag.
I leave the space as clean and empty as it was when I arrived as if I had never been there. All of my basic needs and clothing all go back into the bag.
It is a liberating exercise, a complete reset and reminder that takes me once again back to the perspective of impermanence and what one person actually needs to live contentedly in the world.
This monthly ritual consists of folding and rolling up my three pair of pants, five t-shirts, two nice shirts. socks and underwear enough for one week and putting them back into the bag. Additionally I have my favorite hoodie, a meaningful relic from a clothing shop in Kyoto that warms me every cold morning as a sort of security blanket wherever I am in the world. I also have a down vest and jacket, both of which roll up into tiny pouches which serve nicely as pillows on long flights.
I now have a few mementos from Peru, a pair of handmade alpaca socks which were crafted by an old Quechua mother who sewed them, probably in some rural hut outside of Cusco, two alpaca caps for my freezing head at night. and a set of mala beads I came across in a shaman shop on one of the cobblestoned side streets in Cusco.
Other than that I have my grooming essentials in a small pouch, my laptop and tablet which go into my backpack and a couple of journals for writing which I am quickly making my way through.
I have come to love and honor this ritual which I have now completed five times in the past six weeks since leaving Austin in November. Each time I complete this ritual it gives me an opportunity to consider each item as I carefully fold it, contemplating why I chose this one particular item to accompany me on this journey for the next year and remind myself to care for it carefully as it may not be so easy to replace.
The process I went through to select and streamline which items I would take on my journey was not an easy one, and so I have a special fondness for each item that travels with me.
During the month of December I had only the option to wash my clothes by hand. This ritual also proved to be incredibly rewarding as I spent time with each item I owned and cleaned and cared for it with my own two hands. I found myself appreciating each item of clothing more, considering where it came from and how it was made, much more so than I ever thought about when I threw a pile of laundry into the washer.
I have once again just completed this ritual. This morning as I moved to my next living space. It took less than thirty minutes to complete, a thirty minute meditation. I observed and noticed feeling refreshed and full of appreciation as I once again threw my bag over my shoulder and set out once again for the open road.
View From the Road
A few images from the new neighborhood in Barranco, Lima
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Zen and Ink Journals represents hundreds of hours of writing over the past decade, sometimes from a train in remote China or a coffee shop in Kyoto, a hammock in Costa Rica or a simple cabin on a mountaintop in Boquete, Panama or Ciudad Colón.
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Good luck in Lima, Kirk! That neighborhood looks appealing.
I remember being in Cusco when everyone was wearing down jackets and wool beanies. 11,000 feet in elevation means cold winters. Machu Picchu is actually several thousand feet lower.