“The purpose of art is washing the dust off daily life off our souls.” ~Pablo Picasso
“El objetivo del arte es quitar el polvo a la vida diaria de nuestras almas.”~Pablo Picasso

“The purpose of art is washing the dust off daily life off our souls.” ~Pablo Picasso
“El objetivo del arte es quitar el polvo a la vida diaria de nuestras almas.”~Pablo Picasso
Henry David Thoreau Quote – Frase de Henry David Thoreau
“Nuestra vida más verdadera es cuando estamos en los sueños despiertos.”~Henry David Thoreau
“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.”~Henry David Thoreau
“La vida es una aventura atrevida o no es nada.” ~Hellen Keller
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” ~Hellen Keller
“Most people have never learned that one of the main aims in life is to enjoy it.” ~Samuel Butler
“La mayoría de las personas nunca han aprendido que uno de los principales objetivos en la vida es para disfrutarla.” ~Samuel Butler
“Cuando fui a la escuela, me preguntaron qué quería ser cuando fuera grande, escribí feliz. Me dijeron que yo no entendía la pregunta. Les dije que no entendían la vida.” ~ John Lennon
“When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” ~ John Lennon
“Our life is in large part made up of dreams. We need to unite them with action.” ~Anais Nin
“Nuestra vida está en gran parte compuesta por sueños. Hay que unirlos a la acción.” ~Anais Nin
One of my favorite things to do is to go out and just be in nature! Luckily for me, Northern California is filled with beautiful parks and vast, open spaces as far as the eye can see. I get to take walks in these verdant parks with creeks running right through the middle!
I first became enthralled with this beauty around me as a student at Long Beach State. I’d eat lunch right outside the library (in the quad area) and I loved just being out there and taking in the trees, plants, and flowers. From time to time, I’d treat myself to a trip to the Japanese Gardens- a simply peaceful experience.
The Japanese Gardens at Long Beach State
When I lived in Los Angeles, one of my favorite things to do was to go to a park by my parent’s house and run. After my run, I’d lay down as I cooled off and looked up at the sky and the trees. Time and time again, I was reminded of the amazing patience and intention of nature. A peaceful energy is what I felt in that moment.
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
As I begin begin my bilingual blog and to write more, I am reminded of that same patience. In my Chapter by Chapter Synopsis post , I refer to this patience in Chapter 8: Gratitude and Patience – The High School Year. I briefly discuss patience as a spiritual lesson that I feel I am meant to learn in this lifetime. Countless experiences have lent themselves to the opportunity to be patient: from being patient with my students to being patient with my own healing. In writing and in life, I have learned to be patient with myself.
“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself.” ~ St. Francis
If you’re not being patient with yourself and/or your writing, try it. You’ll discover that letting things take their natural course (as nature does) will bring you miracles in your daily life.
What are your experiences with patience? Are you patient when it comes to your own writing? Are you patient with yourself?
La Naturaleza, La Vida y La Escritura – ¿Qué Tienen En Común?
Unas de mis cosas favoritas de hacer es estar afuera en la naturaleza. Afortunadamente, el norte de California está lleno de hermosos parques y espacios abiertos extensos hasta donde llega la vista. !Tengo la oportunidad de pasear por estos parques verdes con arroyos corriendo por el centro!
La primera vez que me cautivó esta belleza que me rodeaba fue cuando era estudiante en la Universad Estatal de Long Beach. Me gustaba almorzar afuera de la bibliotica (en la area del campo) y me encantaba ver los árboles, plantas y flores. De vez en cuando, me daba el gusto e iba a los Jardines Japonenses-una experiencia simplemente tranquila.
Los Jardines Japoneses en la Universidad Estatal de Long Beach
Cuando vivía en Los Ángeles, me gustaba ir a un parque cerca de la casa de mis padres para correr. Después de correr, me acostaba y miraba el cielo y los árboles. Una y otra vez, me recordaba de la paciencia asombrosa y la intención de la naturaleza. Una energía llena de paz es lo que sentía en ese momento.
“Adopte el ritmo de la naturaleza; su secreto es la paciencia.” ~ ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Con este blog bilingüe y con mi escritura, me acuerdo de esa misma paciencia. En una entrada de este blog – (Chapter by Chapter Synopsis) 0 Los Resúmenes de los Capítulos (Capítulo 8 – Agradecimiento y Paciencia – Un Año en la Preparatoria) de mi libro (memoria) hablo acerca de la paciencia como una leccíon espiritual que siento que estoy destinada a aprender en esta vida. Un sin número de experiencias y oportunidades se me han dado para practicar la paciencia: de ser paciente con mis alumnos a ser paciente con mi propia sanación. En la escritura y en mi vida, he aprendido de ser paciente conmigo misma.
“Ten paciencia con todas las cosas, pero sobre todo contigo mismo.” ~San Francisco de Sales
Si no tienes paciencia contigo mismo y/o tu escritura, inténtalo. Te darás cuenta que al dejar que las cosas sigan su curso natural (como lo hace la naturaleza) te traerá milagros en tu vida cotidiana.
¿Qué han sido tus experiencias con la paciencia? ¿Eres paciente con tu escritura? ¿Eres paciente contigo mismo?
Lately, I have been thinking of everything that I have done to pursue my dream of becoming a writer. Although I enjoy teaching and have lots of fun with my high school students, I do, however, see myself and identify as a writer.
Sometimes it does feel like all I do is work, eat, exercise (a little), write, and sleep. I wake up and do it all over again the next day. So, my day job is that of a teacher and I am a writer at night.
Recently, I have found myself just wanting to write day and night. Writing is my passion and it is what I see myself doing. I believe that it is within my reach and sooner than later, my book will be finished and published. In the meantime, I stay focused and inspired. Something that I found that keeps me going is the Holstee Manifesto. It is simple writing that came from Holstee’s three founders – Mike, Fabian and Dave – who sat together one day to “write down exactly what was on their minds and the tips of their tongues. It was about what they wanted from life and how to create a company that breathes that passion into the world everyday. It was a reminder of what we live for.” And here is the result:
The Holstee Manifesto – How To Live Your Life
http://shop.holstee.com/pages/about
“This is your life. Do what you want and do it often.
If you don’t like something, change it.
If you don’t like your job, quit.
If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV.
If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love.
Stop over-analysing, life is simple.
All emotions are beautiful.
When you eat, appreciate every last bite.
Life is simple.
Open your heart, mind and arms to new things and people, we are united in our differences.
Ask the next person you see what their passion is and share your inspiring dream with them.
Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself.
Some opportunities only come once, seize them.
Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating.
Life is short, live your dream and wear your passion.”
I read it every day and it is just a reminder that I do what I love every single day. Not living a life with passion is not living to the fullest. Does the Holstee Manifesto ring true for you? What is your passion? What are your passions?
Ever since I can remember I have always been curious about many things in life and I am constantly questioning everything. This has included happiness. In this post, I include what I believe happiness to be and what friends and family have told me what happiness means to them. This is an excerpt from one of my chapters from the memoir: A Happy Heart of my Own.
“In general, I knew certain pleasurable experiences not only made me joyful, but others, as well. I asked friends and family what they considered happiness to be and their answers ranged from playing their favorite sport, to helping others, or simply being in nature. Marcos, a friend of mine, began his response with telling me that happiness to him meant ‘not being stressed.’ And I couldn’t agree with him more. Since when does stress and happiness occur simultaneously? It doesn’t. One of my family members, Karina, answered by saying, ‘For me it’s when I run and feel the presence of the Lord and I have this immense feeling of gratefulness for everything in my life.’ Another family member of mine, Gloria, very humble began with, ‘I can’t explain true happiness” and added, “all I can say is that I know it when I feel it. Family, friends, humanity, humility, gratefulness, waking to another day, thunder, lighting, the sunshine, a smile, a hug, even nothing can make me feel happiness! But, I can truly say that I experienced true happiness when I learned self-love, when I leaned in to clear my mind and let peace take over. So, happiness to me turns out to be LIFE itself.’
This same harmony, joy, and peace are seen in my friend Carlos’ definition on happiness. He says, ‘For me, happiness is akin to knowing that I am alive. There is something so special going on this planet of ours, something that we’ve yet to discover anywhere else in the universe and most of us (again, particularly in industrialized nations) act as if we couldn’t care less. We have to stop every now and then and take a step back in wonder and amazement. Put things in perspective and take life, with all its glitches, and treat it like what it is: the best, most unique gift in the world.’
What a beautiful combination of different interpretations on happiness. As each expressed what happiness meant to them, I understood and felt it as a rejoicing in all that proved to be of profound delight in their hearts. What was salient in their takes on happiness was a feeling, a connection, and an alignment with spirit: a complete and selfless, unconditional love of life and love for oneself.
After my family and friends expressed what happiness meant to them, I was left with an unwavering desire to define happiness for myself. I questioned whether mere instances in our lives would be the only defining moments that made us achieve this state or could we live happily all the time?
Here is my take on happiness:
“In many ways, the result of this search for my own happiness led me to believe that it is as simple and as sweet as one’s own joie de vivre. I can’t recall the exact date when all this started to happen, but I clearly remember a consistency that came with waking up day after day and being content and filled with gratitude for the light of another day. Not to mention, how truly blessed I was for seeing my life as beautiful and, even more, living it as such. The great and late pianist of the twentieth century, Arthur Rubinstein, once said, ‘I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.’ Pure and simple. I can think of no better way of expressing this sentiment of a constant state of happiness other than to see life as beautiful and to love it. For me, this has translated as living life to the fullest with joy and peace in our hearts because this is what we feel and have within us; it’s who we are. And when we radiate this love, it follows that we not only see our environment and others in a different light, but we also take pleasure and delight through the benefit of receiving love in return. And, for the first time, I wasn’t seeing my life through rose-colored glasses. Happiness wasn’t the result of luck as I had once thought, but it was the result of my unyielding pursuit of it. I had come into harmony on my own accord and I was truly happy.”
What makes you happy? What do you define as happiness?