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New Mexico is part of the region of the United States called: "The Four Corners"
Where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah all meet. |
I get a chuckle when people
think New Mexico
is another country.
This happened to me at the bank the other day when I was wiring the money from Wayland to New Mexico
for the house I'm renting
I've always thought the Flag of New Mexico to be inspiring. It is an honoring of the Native Culture that was in the state before the Spanish arrived.
The simple, elegant center design is the ancient Zia sun symbol, which represents the unique character of New Mexico. The Zia Indians of New Mexico regard the Sun as sacred. Their symbol for the sun (a red circle with groups of rays pointing in four directions) is painted on ceremonial vases, drawn on the ground around campfires, and used to introduce newborns to the Sun. Four is the sacred number of the Zia and is seen repeated in the four points radiating from the circle, each consisting of four bars.
To The Zia the number four represents:
- the four points of the compass (east, west, north, and south);
- the four seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter);
- the four periods of each day (morning, noon, evening, and night);
- the four seasons of life (childhood, youth, middle years, and old age);
As most of you know I have a heartfelt connection to my native ancestry and as native cultures have many things in common despite regional differences in traditions, language and appearance, the rich native culture of New Mexico is part of what draws people to the state.
This statement streams through most native philosophies and is true for The Zia as well:
The Zia's belief that with life
comes four sacred obligations:
one must develop
a strong body,
a clear mind,
a pure spirit,
and a devotion
to the welfare of others.
The stunning natural beauty of New Mexico, the friendly laid back people, the wonderful blend of cultures, the 300 plus days of sunshine, and countless other gifts of this inspiring state - it is no wonder New Mexico is called The Land of Enchantment and it is no wonder I have been inevitably called back.
It feels like some of us
really need the New Mexico way of life. I've never been one for big cities yet the suburbs are not quite the right reflection for me either at this point in life. New Mexico offers some thing far less chaotic than most cities, without compromising education, art and culture. She offers clarity, and a lack of oppressiveness. There is space here, space to create, and wander and be....
Yet there is also a strong sense of community and inventiveness here . There is always something cool brewing. Festivals and markets, unique art, restaurants, dance, music, cooking, hiking, biking, green technology, and sustainability all thrive here in a way that only this landscape can inspire.
This Enchanted Land attracts a certain kind of person. The combined force of the creative and the hearty thrive here. I was stricken the moment I first came here in my early twenties and I've forever been magnitized to this land, this sky, the rugged yet soft glow of sun drenched mountains and earth and turquoise blue sky. My internal, natural compass is set to, "NM". From the moment my eyes settled upon these open vistas and mesas I've had the feeling that New Mexico was created just for me and people like me. Not to say everyone in New Mexico is the same. Not at all. But I do think that those of us who cannot stay away, have a common thread. A need for contrast, light and space informs our sense of place and we need big sky, fresh air, lots of light and a slow meaningful pace to our days- that is why we get drawn here. Artists, poets, photographers, painters, writers, seekers, visionaries and big thinkers, the place is blissfully full of them.
The over stimulation that much of the modern world is riddled with has not quite found its way to New Mexico. There is a rhythm here that the land sets for its inhabitants. You either naturally crave and adapt to the rhythm of the land and thrive, or you try to impose something else upon the land and get ejected, some times painfully so.
The minute I get within reach of New Mexico my breath expands, my bones relax, my thoughts get vivid and clear, my mood escalates, and my heart blows open. I can settle my dust here. I become more of who I am here.
Will I be here for short periods and then leave again? Perhaps. But I will always return, if not for a week, for a month. If not for a month for a year. At some point, I think New Mexico will be my forever home. For now I am content to know that in 4 weeks I will be back in my beloved New Mexico for some amount time longer than a month.
