Making the Most of It

Lupines Blooming at Lago Quilotoa

The power of language and the words we choose to form our thoughts is something I find utterly fascinating. A month or so ago I started noticing that when people asked how I liked Cuenca or Ecuador my response was less than enthusiastic. In fact I found myself saying things like, "Oh it's alright. I can make it until my teaching contract is up in November." My mind was on constant repeat uttering, "Tough it out. Make the best of it."

Thankfully on the rather long bus ride from Baños to Cuenca I rediscovered Eckhart Tolle and The Power of Now. As I sat watching the patchwork-quilt of fields pass by dotted with brightly dressed indigenous women, I listened to Eckhart's discourse on the beauty of living in the present moment. Not a new philosophy for me, but this time I heard something new.

To paraphrase Mr. Tolle, the mind is always busy creating a story of how a situation is going to play out and we get so hooked into following the story that we aren't able to see events as they are unfolding. We're just looking for the events that we've created in our story.

His words hit me. No, slapped me across the face yelling, "Wake up!" You see, when I first decided to move to Ecuador I was just going with the flow. Several people had mentioned I should check it out and, having nothing better to do, I decided to see what opportunities might arise. I hadn't yet created a story. But then the insidious mind kicked in and said, "You'd best create some sort of plan." Thus began the researching of towns which led to the creation of Cuenca, The Perfect City by Shantel Beckers.

When Cuenca didn't live up to my expectations I became disappointed. That disappointment, fed by the constant grumbling of my dissatisfied mind, grew until I found myself planning my escape from Ecuador.

Today I'm happy to report that I've changed my mantra from Make the Best of It to Make the Most of It. Rather than comparing the Cuenca of my story to the Cuenca of reality, I'm simply embracing what is. I'm allowing the plot to develop and unfold day-by-day without expectation of where it's going to take me. By simply plugging a different word into my daily mantra, I'm back to enjoying the adventures of life in Ecuador!