“Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower
Image Source: Phatory.net
From our house to yours: Happy 4th, everyone. Wishing you all a blessed Independence Day with Family and Friends. Be safe out there and enjoy your long holiday weekend.
I am a lover of everything beautiful and pure. I love statues and I have a huge collection of Cherubs all around my Home (indoors and outdoors). When we were designing our backyard layout a couple of years ago, I knew I wanted to use a section of my backyard to create a Zen Garden. We started off by trying out two patterns with Yin Yang Symbols. Last year I bought three small Buddha Statues from the 99¢ Only Stores, which I displayed on my storage shed. Last month I bought a medium size Buddha from Pancho’s in Lucerne Valley, CA and today we picked up a life size torso of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, the Bodhisattva of Compassion (who promises to answer the cries and pleas of all sentient beings and to liberate them from their own karmic woes).
According to the website Taoism.net, a Bodhisattva is a being who is enlightened and ready to transcend the cycles of birth and death, but chooses to return to the material world in order to help other people reach the same level of enlightenment. This is the ultimate demonstration of pure compassion.
Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy and Compassion.
As much as I love beautiful things, I always make sure I do some research and talk to knowledgeable individuals before I bring anything (I don’t fully understand) into my Home. The first time I heard about the Bodhissatva of Compassion and actually saw a few pictures with her eleven heads and a thousand hands, I was freaked out and could not fathom such a transformation/sight until I read her story. From there I was on a quest to acquire more knowledge and more understanding. It’s so easy to judge someone or a culture without enough information.
Guanyin and the Thousand Arms (Wikipedia)
Despite strenuous effort, she realized that there were still many unhappy beings yet to be saved. After struggling to comprehend the needs of so many, her head split into eleven pieces. The buddha Amitabha, upon seeing her plight, gave her eleven heads to help her hear the cries of those who are suffering. Upon hearing these cries and comprehending them, Avalokitesvara attempted to reach out to all those who needed aid, but found that her two arms shattered into pieces. Once more, Amitabha came to her aid and appointed her a thousand arms to let her reach out to those in need. Click here for additional information.
A few years ago, I watched a mesmerizing and breathtaking stage performance called Thousand-Hand Guan Yin by a group of hearing impaired females and males of the China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe (CDPPAT). Below is the amazing video of the performance, I hope you enjoy it.
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There are other stories about Guanyin’s origins as recorded in Buddhist sutras, which you can read here (the first 13 chapters) and here (the last 16 chapters). Looking for the PDF version? Simply download it here
How is life in the High Desert of California? Some of you might ask. We moved here without knowing what to expect, except the fact that up here there’s less noise and pollution as opposed to life in bigger cities.
Well, we’ve only been here a month and the heat is exhausting (keep in mind that I am almost a month away from bringing my first child into the World). I have gone days at a time without stepping outside for fear of fainting or something. Other than the inconveniences cited above, the High Desert is quite a beautiful place to live. We’ve been blessed with high winds (though it feel more like a curse when they are gusty) to compensate for the heat waves and extremely high temperatures.
Adjusting
In just a few days of being here, I found myself drinking a lot more water than ever before to fight dehydration and tiredness. Drinking water has so many benefits amongst which healthy skin, healthy heart, weight loss, help with digestive problems and so much more. Click here for more information.
Within the first few weeks you will experience some degree of dryness, especially of the heel (cracked heels/heel fissures). One thing you could do to help prevent this is to constantly moisturize and wear socks. Click here to learn about some Home Remedies to help you deal with this problem.
High Desert People
The first time we drove here to view the house, we were greeted by a neighbor across the street who wished us good luck in getting the house. Once we finally settled in, a next door neighbor came over with a large basket of food and fruits. A few days later, another neighbor across the street stopped by to offer some gardening tools to get us started on weeding (things we didn’t have to worry about in our apartment). It was all overwhelming to say the least. High Desert people are welcoming and friendly.
Nature/Environment
We are home to Weeds and lots of them; they are faithful, they do not discriminate and they give a dirty appearance to the area (thanks to the wind, which carries the seeds from one location to another). Due to the amount of weeds, most homeowners tend to choose gravel over grass for their landscape design and drought resistant, low maintenance plants are prominent as they cut down on water costs. Keep in mind that regardless of your choice of landscape, weeds will always make their presence known. The bottom line is that you will constantly have to work at it to keep your yard looking beautiful.
The Air is fresh and pollution is kept to a minimum. We have some of the most stunning Sunrises and Sunsets. The view of the Mountains are a delight to wake up every morning. We also get snow here at least once a year every year which is an experience on its own. Our home area is close to the path of the Santa Ana winds, which cool you down in the summer and keep us cold in the winter.
For more Destinations and Attractions in the High Desert of California, please visit the High Desert Insider, a guide and directory to High Desert Entertainment, Events, and Recreation. For local breaking news, visit the Victor Valley News.
By JM Perez
