My new 'home' for a little while . . .

I moved into my newest ´home' just over a week ago, and I´m settling in slowly but surely.  The place I´m living is definitely part of this learning journey on many levels.

The place I´m in is a house/cat-sit . .. I am looking after 2 cats and the house while their owner goes traveling, although I have not committed to remain until she returns . . . because like me, she doesn´t have a return ticket.  I have, however, committed to staying at least until the end of March to provide the animals with some continuity.  It appears that is no small deal . . . while one of the cats has warmed to me fairly quickly, the other is far more skittish, and I think needs the longer term stability.  New 'sitters' every month will not go over well.

It is still amazing to me that I was offered this opportunity (virtually for free . . . just pay the hydro and cat food) so quickly and that it came together so easily.  A powerful reminder that the universe provides and that my old habits of panic and scramble really don´t serve me.  So that is powerful lesson number one. 

The other powerful learning for me in this place is about what I can really handle, and what I really need in order to live well.  When I moved to Cortes . . . and even until I left, I would never have lived in a place this rustic.  I was convinced that I needed indoor plumbing, amongst other things, in order to stay sane and live comfortably. I also resisted 'studio' style places, convinced I needed more space. 


So here I am, living in a one room shack with no plumbing at all in it.  In a space I estimate to be about 6 x 12 or 15 feet I have my bed, a small fridge, a stove and some shelving.  Outside, about 10 feet away is my bathroom - it does have running water for the shower and the sink, and a compost toilet.  I do dishes another 10 feet away at an outdoor sink setup common here for dishes and laundry. 

There is also a beautiful 3 story adobe house right in front of me that is part of the package. . . .but it doesn´t yet have windows, doors or stairs.  I could sleep on the top floor if I was willing to do the ladder thing . . . but I´m just not. And nothing of value can go into the house (including plumbing fixtures) until the doors and windows are in, as they will most likely be stolen.  I may yet use the space up there for yoga, meditation or sun bathing though . . . as it´s far above any other properties.

The shack itself is charming . . . fully equipped when I arrived with a multitude of spiders webs and nests (4 hours of cleaning later, I believe I have evicted most of them).  The walls are boards that almost meet, and the roof is a standard issue Guatemalan tin roof, affixed with heavy rocks holding it down.  Essentially, I have a roof as long as no one takes the rock piles.  I figure it worked for Katherine for the last 6 years . . . I should be ok. There is one light in the place, but it´s so small that one is plenty.  There is no outside light so when I found a string of Christmas lights at the Saturday market (really a community flea market) I bought them and set them up outside so I´d have light to come home to after work. 


Now that I´ve cleaned it, added an extra shelf unit that I found under the bed, set up my clothes, added an extra foam and my colourful spread on the bed . . . etc., I´m actually surprisingly comfy here.  It´s not supposed to rain at this time of year AT ALL, but it has been in the evenings . . .and I´ve been quite content on the couple that I wasn´t working to curl up with tea, candles and a book.  During the day I´m either out or I sit on the porch of the big house to have my tea, eat my meals, read a book or make hoops. 

So, I´m not fully sure why I took the place or why I´m so comfortable here.  Certainly, the warm climate facilitates some adjustments more easily than the chilly Canadian winter. . . but I know that´s not the whole story.  I know that part of it is a readiness to tackle my own 'stuff' around stuff . . . and around comfort . . .and to explore what simplicity can offer me.  I´m not against being comfortable (I did bring two pillows with me . . . with NO regrets) . . . .but I do think it´s important for me to know what comfort really is, and to able to live comfortably without needing a lot of the conveniences.  Not only is it less expensive, but it´s also easier on the mother . . . the earth is much happier with compost toilets than with the incredible polluting waste of flush toilets.  Which is not to say I won´t appreciate having one again . . . just that I´ll make choices with greater awareness and with a wider range of choice about where and how I can live when I get home.

An interesting learning journey this is . . . .indeed.

PS: pictures are up so you can see for yourself!  http://picasaweb.google.com/Called2Inspire