Time Perspective: The Dismal and the Beautiful in a Mexican Cemetery

Whenever I take a trip on down to Mexico to see my family, there is a particular cemetery that I just have to visit or else I’ll feel somewhat empty when I return home. I know that spending some time in a cemetery all by myself sounds either a bit crazy or morbidly grotesque, but for me there is something unique, strange, and captivatingly beautiful about this cemetery in particular.

Explaining why I am drawn to the cemetery can be quite difficult, as many of the attractive qualities that I find there come from within me and can’t be properly transmitted into words. However, from the beauty of the outstretched lawns created from the transference of life to the stunning architecture that deserves much more than a second glance, I’ve discovered this varied perspective of time that blends together the past, present, and future.  These experiences in the Mexican cemetery that I have had have forced me to think a little more about time.

In short, time is basically this precious commodity. Though our time can be purchased, after all we get paid at our jobs and careers according to how much time we
invest at work, it is a resource that is in constant depletion.

In the United States especially, we tend to view time in segments,
sections on a clock between one task and another. Being “prompt and
willing to work late” are valuable assets on a resume. Arriving to the
workplace late or taking extra time on lunch may be grounds for losing a job.

Other parts of the world have built their culture around an entirely different understanding of time. A sign may hang on a pharmacy door in Mexico that says, “Closed for lunch, be back at 1:00.” In reality, that sign may mean, “Closed for lunch, be back when I’m done eating.”

After my getaway in Mexico, it was evident that despite cultural norms,
modifying time around what is really valuable is a nothing short of a skill that also requires time to master. While jogging through neighborhoods and past these cemeteries, I was reminded again and again that time is limited and it is up to no one but ourselves to
decide how, where, or with whom we spend it.

The Mexican cemeteries served as another reminder why I am so grateful to be producing my time-capturing works of art with Love Ashes. Fortunately, there is inspiration everywhere, and sometimes I get caught up with the time I need to spend working and forget to open my eyes, ears, and my heart just a little more. As the warm breeze blows through the trees and over the silent graves, it is definitely possible to listen to all of the stories from the past. When all of these stories combine into a cohesive thesis, the lives of those past speak about love, accomplishments, sufferings, and most importantly, fragmented moments of joy.

I’m aware that it sounds fruity and strange, but if you look closely at the following pictures, you too can absorb these histories and inspirations for the life around you. Everything that creates the ambience of these cemeteries, especially the architecture, just showcases how much time and detail is spent on allowing the dead to continue to live. Even when our loved ones physically leave our sides, throughout all of the tears and sadness, there is always joy in the remembrance that we could spend some time and get to know the ones we loved. 

As a man laid down flowers at the bottom of the grave, his face remained dismal and pale of happiness, but nonetheless there was pure evidence that he was happy once to know this person. It could have been a son, daughter, mother, aunt, love, or friend, and the existence of this person never left. At Love Ashes, we strive to prolong memory and promote the continuance of these lives. Losing a loved one is never easy, but perhaps there is a little peace and perspective that comes with the thought of a loved one, no matter where they may be nowadays.

Time will continue to flow in a linear direction, but while strolling through and past the Mexican graveyards, it is hard to tell which way time is heading, but for the time being, think about who it is in your life that you love; even if you love them just a little, go spend some time with them.