A few days ago I was inspired by the smile of a small boy named Diego, who lives in a poor community of Tecate, Mexico. I spent last week in Mexico as a guest of Rancho La Puerta. Our group of 18 bloggers visited Diego’s community last Thursday.

As a border town, Tecate is known as a migrant town and is highly transient. The average worker earns $5-10 per day. Diego and his family live in the outskirts of Tecate where people can still acquire land by squatter’s rights. Diego’s neighborhood is crammed with one tiny home after another, many without running water. Poverty is rampant in this part of town.

Fundacion La Puerta, Rancho La Puerta’s non-profit, gave us a tour of several of their projects in the area, including the Professor’s Park, where local children are educated on environmental issues. We then visited Diego’s community to experience the organic garden projects and see first-hand the environmental and social impact of their work.

Fundacion La Puerta was inspired to help this poor community because of one main reason- the people voluntarily came together to improve the life of everyone in their community. They started neighborhood projects to work together to make things better for everyone. Fundacion La Puerta heard about their existing efforts and wanted to support them and assist with expansion of their existing programs.

Our visit today took us to the home of the elder woman who leads the project. She was proud to show us their recycling equipment and their gardens. This community has one of the first machines to crush products for recycling. They gather all of the recyclables from Rancho La Puerta as well as from many of the neighboring schools. Last year their efforts earned a profit of $800, which they have set aside for the purchase of a new truck. This will allow them to increase their recycling efforts with additional clients and earn more profit to build a larger garden to provide more food for the people of their community.

We toured their organic neighborhood garden, located along the riverbank of the Tecate River. The women proudly showed us their beds of fresh chilies, lettuce and other crops. The fresh salsa from their garden must be amazing!

The garden was fenced with a chain link fence with a large lock. I thought the fence was to keep rabbits and other hungry critters out of the garden, but was told it was put up to prevent local residents from stealing the water!

Adjacent to the garden is a rusty old swing set and a few playground toys for the local children. Diego and his two friends were playing and laughing, and seemed to be quite happy.

Time for true confessions here….. After a week at this amazing health-conscious ranch, many of us were craving chocolate. Don’t get me wrong….the meals at Rancho La Puerta are amazing, and while we greatly enjoyed the incredible meals, we just missed chocolate. So, on the way to visit the community, we asked our driver to stop at a mini-market to purchase some chocolate bars. I think the grocery story clerk thought it was quite strange when I ran in and purchased 20 Hershey bars. The 18 bloggers on the shuttle bus were quite happy and shared the chocolate with delight.

By the time our bus reached the community gardens, we still had a handful of candy bars remaining. After asking permission from their mothers, we shared the remaining chocolate with the local children. The smiles and wide-eyed wonder of Diego and his friends were contagious.

What stuck me the most was the innocence and joy in the faces of these children, ranging in age from 5-9 years of age. The two boys and the little girl seemed very happy! Here there were living in one of the poorest communities one could find, with little prospect of creating a prosperous life, and yet they seemed genuinely happy. Was it that they didn’t know what they were missing or did they know something we don’t know?

Our guide told us that these children rarely get treats like chocolate and this could have been the first time they had ever experienced this luxury. Wrap your head around that one for a moment…. to have never eaten chocolate before? Wow! They’re within a stone’s throw of the US Border and one of the most abundant nations on the planet, and yet a world away.

Spending time with the residents of this small community on the outskirts of Tecate and seeing the work of Fundacion La Puerta was one of the highlights of my trip. It certainly provided an extreme adjustment in perspective to us, especially since we were coming here from Rancho La Puerta, the 5-star resort and spa. I felt a profound sense of gratitude for the opportunities in my life and an even greater sense of responsibility to reach out to make a difference.

Yesterday, as I was writing this post as I watched the consumerism displayed in the Super Bowl commercials, it gave me great pause once again. This IS in our backyard and feeding hungry people is more important to me than the latest gadget. I’m compelled to help.

Thank you Fundacion La Puerta for sharing this experience with us. I plan to come back again soon and find a way to help this small community help themselves through our upcoming Global Hug Tour. If you are moved and want to help, please comment below or feel free to email me directly at gail@inspiremetoday.com.

Muchas Gracias!

Recently I had the privilege of meeting Debrorah Szekely, the founder of Rancho La Puerta. I’ve been enjoying a luxurious week here at the ranch in Tecate, Mexico, as a part of a group of 18 women lifestyle bloggers.

Deborah is an incredible woman and a mentor to all of us. The life story of Deborah is as full of achievements as it is improbable. Born in Brooklyn in 1922 and raised in New York City, Tahiti, and Marin County, California, Deborah found herself at age 18 jouncing down a dusty road in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico, in an old car with her husband, Edward, a 34-year-old Hungarian scholar, philosopher and natural-living experimenter.

Edmond Szekely had been named the Director of the British International Health and Education Society in Leatherhead, Surrey, England, but as the war broke out he found himself unable to return to Europe. Szekely was in the reserves of the Romanian army. He had been ordered to report to duty to support Hitler’s ambitions of world domination, and as a Jew this was tantamount to a death sentence. Szekely ignored various orders until finally in 1940 his passport was cancelled and the Romanian government issued an order for his arrest. This, the last straw, he also ignored.

Then U.S. Immigration and Naturalization notified him that if he were found in the U.S. after June 1, 1940, he would be arrested and returned to Romania as a deserter. Britain’s cities were burning, and transport back to England by ship was extremely hazardous. A number of foreign-passport Jewish men in the United States were in a similar position at this time; forced to leave, but with nowhere “back home” in Europe to go. Those with adequate funds to wait out the war went to Canada. Those without, crossed over into Mexico.

Without documents, Edmond and Deborah crossed into Mexico—and Mexico welcomed them. All of their possessions rode in a box mounted to the back bumper. They were, in fact, “undocumented aliens” – one of the reasons that she has been a champion of immigrant rights and cross-border cultural programs throughout her life.

In the 66 years since, Deborah has gone on to fashion a remarkable life and career as the founder of the modern health and fitness movement, as the owner/director of two destination spas –Rancho La Puerta and the Golden Door; a government career during which she served as President and CEO of the Inter-American Foundation in Washington, D.C., various assignments as a U.S. Diplomat, and other posts; and as a philanthropist and public servant who has funded numerous causes in the realm of education, health and the environment, and created several non-profit organizations.

At 87 years of age and being a mere 5′ tall, this woman still has more energy and spunk than most people have at age 25! She still meets with her trainer three times a week and walks several miles each day. During an interview with fitness expert Andrea Metcalf, Deborah mentioned that she still does push-ups as a part of her regular routine. At Andrea’s request, Deborah dropped to the floor and did ten push-ups- much to the astonishment of all of us!

She attributes her vibrant health and longevity to taking time for herself, eating a healthy organic diet, regular exercise and following her passion. I believe it also has a lot to do with her incredibly positive attitude that seems to permeate everything and everyone around her. This woman is an inspiration!

So thank you Deborah for sharing this wonderful resort with us. Even more importantly, thank you for sharing your passion with the world and for being such in inspiration to all of us. When I leave Rancho La Puerta not only will I take the knowledge I’ve learned home with me, but I’m also taking a smidgen of your contagious spirit and zest for life along with me too, just in case I need it on a rainy day. ☺

Ah…. morning inspiration from Rancho La Puerta….

While on a walk yesterday, I found a permanent exterior chalk board that is the ranch’s version of InspireMeToday.com. This board is about 3′ by 3′ in a stone monument with inlaid tiles. The artwork is exquisite! Each day they feature a different  inspirational quote. Today’s quote

“The soul is not where it lives, but where it loves. “

It was so beautifully done that I wanted to share it with you…… with hopes that some of the peace I’m feeling this morning comes through this post to you. Enjoy your day!

With hugs and love,

Gail

A few weeks ago I was invited to visit Rancho La Puerta, in Tecate, Mexico. I’m here this week as a part of an international group of bloggers to experience this incredible resort and spa. I am truly excited to share Rancho La Puerto with you as I’m inspired just being here.

We met yesterday at the San Diego airport and boarded a coach bus for the hour-long ride to the ranch, just over the border in Tecate, Mexicao. The light at the end of the tunnel, on in this case, the resort at the end of the very windy bus ride, was certainly worth the wait.

The grounds are beautiful…. old red brick hacienda style buildings scattered over hundreds of acres. The scent of flowers and herbs are at every turn in the brick pathways that connect the more than 100 buildings. Just walking to our villa was a 1720 steps! Yes, I only know this because the room comes complete with a pedometer. Everything is very spread out, but the grounds are exquisite. So far I’ve only gotten lost once. Fortunately there are signs throughout the property, once again displaying the overwhelming amount of choices.

The variety each day is staggering. Do I want to go on a 4-mile 6am hike, or sleep in a bit and then enjoy yoga or pilates after breakfast, or just go to the weight room whenever, or perhaps take a class? Options include different levels for most exercise classes from hard-core athletes, to hula-hoop classes for those just looking for some fun.

I feel like I’m a kid at camp again. Even my artistic side can enjoy watercolor, jewelry making, sketching or even singing classes. There are a plethora of spiritual and/or educational classes including The Art of Happiness, Cooking, Nutrition and the Truth about Sleep. But wait, there’s more…. there’s an entire menu of massage, facials, salon services, wraps and all the other related spa treatments. It’s so decadently delicious and I’m feeling incredibly spoiled- and very grateful for this experience.

Last night after a group dinner I stayed in the main dining area after everyone else had gone, so that I could use the internet. By the time I left to return to my villa, there was no one in sight. It was a chilly night with temperatures in the 30’s, with a light misty fog covering the grounds. The smoke from the many villa fireplaces added to the almost eerie setting. After making only one wrong turn in the dark, I found my way back to my villa, cracked the window for some fresh air and crawled into bed by 9:30pm! The sound of howling coyotes serenaded me throughout the night.

Today was filled with classes and an exquisite deep tissue massage followed by a brainstorming session with the 17 other bloggers that are here. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be today than here at Rancho La Puerta.

As I head back to my room tonight, another 1700+ steps away, I’ll take you with me on the walk. it’s dark, quiet and quite surreal. It will be nice to have the company on the hike in the dark.

Besides, this is an experience that I hope you too will one day be able to enjoy too, even if only vicariously through this blog. Sweet dreams!