Lessons from the Jungle
%%First Name%%, Every time we tour the jungle we come home (to our beach cottage) with a handful of interesting things. Our new friend and guide, Mauricio, continues to amaze us with his knowledge of the plants and, of equal importance, his understanding of life. He does not speak using the words ‘I’ or ‘me’, he always speaks in the context of the greater or global ‘we’. Also, since English is his third language, he only speaks in the present tense – there is only now! You only take what you need; you always leave some for others. As well, you never harvest a complete plant or an area completely… you leave some behind for future growth. So, even though he is in the immediate moment, his immediate moment looks after the future.
The jungle has gifted us turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, sarsaparilla root (yes, the kind you use to make root beer), mint and bananas. Mauricio’s farm also has gifted us with some of the juiciest grapefruit we have ever tasted in our lives. You need to eat them outside, because the juice r
uns everywhere. Tina is the fruit bat. I’ll try it, but most things I don’t like. It’s a texture thing for me. We have tried Oranges, Water Apples, Limes, Guava and Plantain and others that I don’t remember the names of. For Mangosteen Juice (M.L.M) lovers, the local crop of mangosteen fruit will be ready in about a month.
Through all this, what has amazed me (Neil) the most is the ants. The sheer variety of the ants and the absolute overwhelming number of them is truly astounding. I could not imagine what the jungle would look like without them. They truly are the sanitation engineers of the jungle.
I was so amazed at the leaf cutter ants. They made this super highway at least 500 meters long to their food source. There were ants carrying food, ants cleaning the path, and there were the national guard of the ants looking out for banditos (invading ants) that crossed the super highway. Each ant had a job to do and they went about doing that job.
I was also impressed with this three toed sloth (see video below) just outside our yard. He had successfully crossed a small, but busy road and was making his way up into the safety of the tree he was climbing. I watched him climb, stretching out his arm, hooking a claw on to a protruding piece of the bark and then pulling on it to make sure it would hold him. Then, when he was sure of his grip, he moved along. He knew where he was going and he just kept plodding along. I reached out and touched his back and at the speed of a sloth, he slowly turned and faced me with a look of, “What the $#@%% are you doing? Can’t you see I’m busy?” Note: they have really soft fur.
Okay, back to the lessons I learnt from the jungle. Tina and I are relatively tidy people, except when it comes to our home office, we both could use a little help there. So our little cottage on the beach is always pretty tidy. But tidy does NOT make it anywhere near ant clean. You drop one little bread crumb and being the social little creatures they are, they invite the whole colony to every bread crumb they find and throw a party. They have very big parties!!!
So, in our three week stay on the beach we have learnt to be ant clean or ant friendly. Which is a beautiful take-home lesson for us, as it truly takes less time to keep the place spotless and clean as you go along, rather than having to dedicate days or hours to cleaning it up later on. Our little guests, once they show up for a party, don’t really like to leave.
I am the one that will have a cup of coffee, rinse the cup and spoon (not wash it) and then leave it in the sink. That was prior to this trip. Now all things are washed and put away.
Who says you can’t train a man to do new things? Not me!!
We have also learnt many other lessons in our three weeks stay. One of the biggest lessons has been how much stuff we have! We have gotten along with 2 pots and one frying pan and still have managed to prepare absolutely delicious meals…. Mmmm
We’re saving some of our lessons for future issues of Heart and Mind Matters… so, stay tuned!
Our world is changing, no doubt about it. How can you meet these changes with grace, ease and awareness?
Sunday, February 19th, The SEED Productions Foundation presents The SEED Event~Navigating a New World. Come for the whole day and see all 8 speakers for the price of one, or pick who you’d like to see and come and go as you please!
SEED has culled the best of the best and delivers a broad scope of disciplines:
International Speaker & Bestselling Author of more than 64 Books, Deepak Chopra headlines with The Future of Wellbeing. As a global leader and pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, Deepak Chopra is transforming the way the world views physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social wellness.
Raw & Super Food Guru, David ‘Avocado’ Wolfe will lay out the blueprint for a balanced, connected diet in Living Nutrition. Wolfe was foundational in bringing major distribution of organic foods to North America, while exemplifying quality and practicing ethical production, through food, he is changing the world.
Young Canadian, Adam DreamHealer first garnered attention when Rolling Stone called him, “the Boy with the Magic Touch” after he healed Ronnie Hawkins’ terminal pancreatic cancer. Dreamhealer will blow your mind as he Unlocks Unlimited Human Potential allowing all participants to tap into their own self–healing potential.
Cutting through the spin of the global financial game is internationally consulted Trend Forecaster, Gerald Celente with his no holds barred presentation, The Future of Life As We Know It – Environment, Economy, Globalization. Celente is a political atheist, whose insight, thoughtfulness, and candor empower your understanding of global, economic, and social movement.
Truth in Politics…Minister of Service Alberta, The Honourable Manmeet Bhullar puts aside all political agendas and differences as he speaks on what unites us and on Truth, doing the right thing and service to all.
Anne-Marie Collette is an advocate and mentor for peace, spirituality, and holistic awareness in schools and is presently co-developing a practical researched-based Framework for their School Peace Education Program.
A recipient of Global TV’s Woman of Vision award, Elisabeth Fayt bridges the gap between spirituality and business, illustrating the practicality of implementing spiritual principles in the material world.
Sequoyah Trueblood brings teachings from the four directions and opens The SEED Event with an expansive ceremony to welcome participants into oneness and co-creative possibility.
ALL DAY EVENT PASS $129
STUDENT/SENIOR $119
Limited VIP passes available for Gerald Celente and Adam Dreamhealer.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.seedevent.org
and code ‘BESTUCANB’ to save.
