Bitter, Bittersweet, just Sweet....

YOU ARE SO BITTER! My friend yelled this at me after I commented that some dude sucks. I was like I'm bitter, why because I don't like someone's body of work and I find that he has no real substance. Because I say what I mean and have no capacity to be a comemierda. I can't fake it.

I asked myself, is there a deeper issue here? I would love to know what it is. I know that there is but she doesn't she may think that friends don't do that. So instead she screams at me for something completely unrelated to what is really eating her up inside. She takes this opportunity to say what she wants to say to me in the most inappropriate context. I really wish she would just yell and scream and tell me what she really thinks instead of sending me these mixed messages so she won't hurt my feelings, your feeling, our friendship.

So in the middle of the tirade I say to her, I think this is about something else so why don't you just say it to me. I said that about three times, pushing her and challenging her to say it. Just say it. She didn't. She backed down, made sure she had the last word on my bitterness.

Friendship is difficult in your 30's. It isn't as forthright and honest as it was in your teens or even 20's. Everyone is making decisions as they see fit for their own lives and it becomes harder to comment and advise one another, much harder to just straight up scream one another for what may be our idiotic decisions. I don't know what it is that holds us back.

But in this case, I know that she is mad at me. My decisions have led me to miss out on opportunities for power and prestige, to the things that we thought at one point we really wanted. She is mad because I left it all behind for something that still has not manifested. She is mad because I left her alone. She no longer has someone that she can fully trust and talk to in the game, who will unconditionally have her back and vice versa. I miss that too.

So am I bitter? I think I was, about until 2 months ago. I was so mad, angry, full of rage. I had to go for my own spiritual, mental and emotional survival. I had to save myself because no one else was going to. I am a critic. I am critical. I don't believe in following anyone that I have no trust or faith in leading me. I don't respect people who just expect me to be blindly loyal just because they are who they are without them ever demonstrating to me either directly or indirectly that they are deserving. And there are just some people que me caen mal. So unless there is a major shift however so slight for me to change my mind about someone I'm not gonna change my mind about them. So if that make me bitter in the eyes of some, so be it.

The answer, to keep meditating upon opening my heart. Of course, I don't want to be bitter. I want to be sweet, kind, understanding, comprensiva. I want to be able to see things from different point of views, appreciate and respect them. Yes, I need to be more precise in what I say and what I mean but I also want to be able to express myself without feeling that I will be grossly attacked.

We gotta work with what we have. I will work on me, I hope that you will work on you. Let's be constructively critical with our eyes and ears but in a non-violent manner, please -and open hearts. Gracias.

Image: http://nmazca.com/fractalism/open_heart_chakra.jpg

OM: Yoga and Opening My Heart

For the last several years I have taken yoga classes on and off. Since high school, I have loved yoga. It is very difficult, it stretches you, gets all the kinks out and just by doing it once you already feel like you lost pounds of stress and toxins. One of the most beneficial aspects of yoga is the concept of opening up ones' heart -not only spiritually, emotionally but also physically. We spend so much time behind a desk, hunched over a computer, to dealing with all sorts of drama and emotions throughout the day from co-workers, family members and friends. All of life's trials and tribulations makes it very easy for someone to close off their heart. The closing of one's heart results in becoming negative, bitter, depressed and at times a hateful person.

Approximately about 1 year ago, I got a reiki massage that in essence helps align one's chakra's and assures that the energy is moving fluidly. I discovered that my heart chakra was closed and that the energy that is supposed to move through my heart chakra was moving along sides my shoulders. It had even changed color. Green is the color of the heart chakra. My heart chakra had no color and had become pinkish. My masseuse worked with me to unblock my heart chakra and help me open up my heart. We discussed at length what could have been the major events in my life that have led to this moment. I thought of so many things: my father's infidelity towards my mother, my parents always saying no to me, my cousins making fun of me for being la gringa, my 'friend's' betrayal, my first love dumping me -the list can go on.

Once I again, I find myself working towards opening up my heart -spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically. After having reached one of the lowest points of my life, I am working to let it go. To let go of the hurt and the hate. Once again to embrace the positive side of life, love and joy. To know that all of life's challenges are best confronted with easy, love and compassion. I pray everyday to love myself and others. This is difficult especially in a city that moves so fast y que no tiene pena. The challenge today is to take out your moments, slow down, breathe and open your heart. For me the answer is yoga.....OMMMMMMMMMMMM......