La Isla del Encanto - It's been said time and again that Puerto Ricans are..

Its been said time and again that Puerto Ricans are very proud people.  Does that mean that we are simply aloof, or just damn proud to be Puerto Rican!  I think it means the latter.  After all, it's the only thing left us.  I have yet to meet a boricua who was not 'humbly' proud of being born on the island.  We are indeed proud to be Puerto Rican first and foremost, and by that I mean that we love our island with an unconditional passion as true lovers love each others, many times overlooking our shortcomings.

Sunset @Joyuda Beach in Cabo Rojo

View from plane leaving the beautiful island!

For whatever reason, many of us left the island years ago.  Nonetheless, we will always consider ourselves boricuas to the core.  As other ethnic groups have also done, we've ventured off the beaten path where we've set up house and home and the serious business of raising our families.  Many have mainstreamed within the adopted country, while still others have just plain disappeared.  But again, one thing sets the true Puerto Rican apart - we never forget who we are and where we came from.  And unlike citizens of other countries, we've never given up on our right to be independent.  The Philippines traded part of their ethnicity by favoring English over Spanish.  Alaska and Hawaii accepted statehood with eyes closed.  Which begs the question:  Were we not good to be offered statehood?  Colonial status was forced on us, first by Spain then by the United States.  That might very well be where henceforth emerges that stubborn Puerto Rican pride, if we can call it 'stubborn'.  We never forsook or compromised our roots, our ethnicity, that enviable trait which makes us who we are.  The fact that in spite of repeated attempts by our adoptive country to change our language or attempts to superimpose their ways on us we refuse to abandon who we are, is a true testament to our ethnic pride and allegiance to such a tiny country.  "Good things come in small packages," the saying goes.

Aerial view of Isla Verde

Lately, I've been reading a lot of negative reports about the beloved island.  They blame the island and its people for the serious problems we face today - crime, drugs, lack of good schools, lack of enforcement of the law.  We could go on.  Puerto Rico has been referred to as a child who refuses to grow up, the adult who won't leave home, taking their parents for all they're worth without regard to consequence.  To a certain extent that may well be.  However, let us clarify that we never asked to be a colony forever.  However free that commonwealth may be, it's still a colony.  In the year 2012, Puerto Rico might well be the only country in the world that falls under such status, which depending on who you ask might not be such a bad thing.  Cuba fought for freedom, only to end up under a dictatorship for over half a century.  Santo Domingo, who once pleaded with the US to take them to no avail, is probably thanking God they were rejected.  It forced them to stand on their own feet and become the independent country they are today. 

Night Falls on Joyuda Beach

I like to believe that we possess the innocence of the Taino, the physical strength of the Amazon and African, the civility of the Spaniard,the common sense of the American, and above all, the serenity and compassion this mixture has created.  The true boricua is one of the most compassionate people you will ever meet.  Not to mention, the funniest!  Laughter in the face of adversity is what keeps us strong through it all.

Beach in Cabo Rojo at Dusk - La Mona Island in the background

So to the naysayers, I say go easy on us!  We're no different that any other.  And if we're in this situation, it's because of our unique status.  Take a chill pill and instead of coming down on it, let's unite to restore the island to its true and proper name:  The Island of Enchantment!

Evening in Joyuda - View from my cousins' house

Another view of the magical place

View from my sister's house of Melia Beach, Cabo Rojo

God in the Time of Chaos

I started the new year wondering how I could become closer to God.  In the book Eat Pray Love, the author is searching for all the above.  Of course by Pray, she means searching for and a yearning to become closer to God.  In her quest to do so, Elizabeth finds herself in India in a monastery of sorts, where hundreds  just like her are looking for (what seems to be these days) an elusive God.  I read the book when it first came out and dared to venture out to seek a certain closeness to God, through meditation and prayer.  I have to admit, though, that for me the experience was more scary than it was en-lightning.  I found myself in an almost trance-like state, over which I felt I had no control.  But the really scary part was feeling like I was communicating with some other who-knows-what spirit.  That was really scary!  For all I know, it could've been anything (?).  And so for the time being, I was leary of going somewhere for fear of what I might find.  After about three or four frustrated attempts, like Elizabeth, for a time I gave up the search.

I've always believed in prayer and its power.  I grew up in a Christian home, where prayer was part of our daily lives.  Thus, I pray for everyone and about everything every day.  I even pray for such insignificant (?) petitions as my favorite team winning the Super Bowl (?)!  I truly believed that God is always there for me, and that in due time He will answer my prayers according to His will.  But I have to say, that this quest of becoming one (?) with God can be a bit challenging.  At least that's what I thought, until this morning! 

I'm not of the athletic types who jog every day, play tennis every week, or run marathons every year.  I do, however, try to make exercise part of my day.  Somehow I manage to fit in twenty or thirty minutes of exercise a day, whether it's my own version of yoga, stretching, and/or somersaults(?), all while still in bed; squatting or jumping jacks once I'm out of bed; or, dancing up a sweat in the family room.  I also try to take the opportunity in the quiet morning hours to center myself and start my day with meditation and/or prayer.  I pray for guidance for myself and for my girls, to get us through the day.  I pray that the Holy Spirit guide us in whatever we may propose to do.  And, I pray for  everyone, from our servicemen and women in the military to all the children in the world.  I run the gamut, including everyone - family, friends, and anyone else who might need prayer. 

This morning, I experienced what I would call becoming one with God!  One might wonder exactly what that means.  I'll tell you.  I became one with God!  How is that possible one might ask!

When I pray, I feel I do all the talking.  Just like when I read Scripture, God is talking to me!  This morning, instead of praying like I regularly do, somehow I found myself asking God to show me his face.  I have no idea how that happened!  What possessed me to ask that after my last failed attempt!  But then God has a way of finding us when we least expect it.  You could say, He does it in his own way and on his own time.  And then I  found myself asking Him questions, and suddenly God was present to me and answering all my questions.  It took me a while, but I could feel his presence.  I was actually having a real conversation with God!  But it wasn't just that I was conversing with God.  I was actually, one with God!  I could feel Him and the feeling was like nothing I remember ever having experienced.

The conversation went something like this, "God, is it really you?  Or, is it something or someone else?  Can you show me your face?"  

And then I heard the words in my head, "Yes, Sylvia.  It really is me, God."

"Remember what happened last time I try doing this.   How scared I was."

"Don't be afraid, Sylvia.  Trust in me."

"Wow! God, it really is you!!!  I can so feel it's you!  What a wonderful feeling!  Thank you, God!  Thank you for showing me your face."

"You're welcome, Sylvia."

"I love you, God."

"I love you, Sylvia."

The conversation lasted about five minutes, with me asking and God answering.  I was elated beyond words to finally have connected with God in this way.  It felt better than being in my mother's arms.  A peace and serenity unlike anything came over me.  For that period of time, I had no cares in the world; and if I did, I knew that He would take care of them - that He would take care of my girls and me.  Regardless!  God asked me to trust in and believe in Him.

I'm almost certain that this hasn't been the only time I've seen God's face this way.  But lately I've been so preoccupied, caught up in the craziness and the chaos of this world, that I cannot remember the last time I was in His presence like that.  The promise that "He is never far from those who call on Him" cannot be more true now more than ever.

Many people claim to have had similar experiences with God.  They are blessed to have been in His presence.  He is real!  And He is available to us!  But, we cannot give up looking for Him!.  We must insist and persist in seeing his face.

Seek his presence today!  You might be pleasantly surprise to find God in the time of chaos!

Your comments are always welcomed!