by Dr. David Fialkoff, Editor / Publisher

Of all the comic books I read as a kid I remember just one story. It wasn't the main feature, but a single page, six frames, appearing towards the back of the volume. It wasn't mine, so I only read it once. And I remember where, in the backyard of my cousin Benny's house. I wasn't any more than eight or nine-years-old.

In the story an artist paints a portrait that comes alive and starts to speak to him. The artist panics and crosses out the person in the portrait, painting a big X over him. The artist spends years, the rest of his life, trying to recreate the talking portrait; the last frame of the story shows the artist in his studio, painting, surrounded by his failed efforts.

Throughout the ancient world words were considered magical. We are told that Adam named the animals and had dominion over them. Modern linguistics shows that naming a color makes it easier to recognize. The Russian language has two words for blue, "goluboy" for light blue and "siniy" for dark blue. Tests prove that Russians are quicker, i.e., better able, to distinguish between tones of blues. Language shapes thought.

These articles are my laboratory, my theater. These words are experiments, meditations, therapy. They are the language I use to shape thoughts, principally my own, but then, at least for a short while, also yours. Some people paint; I publish.

These articles are my canvas. Like the painter in the comic book I am trying to bring my subject to life, to get it just right and make the painting talk. The magic incantation, "abracadabra," is really two Hebrew words (plus a prefix), avra k'dabra, "it will be created as I speak it."

Speaking of words: "¿Qué onda?" is a common, casual Mexican greeting, fine to use with friends, but not something you would say in a formal context. Literally "onda" means "wave." In terms of a greeting, ¿Qué onda? translates into English as "What's the vibe?" waves being vibrations.

The old physics quandary regarding the basic stuff of reality, "Is it a wave or a particle?" has been resolved. It's a wave. (Subatomic "particles," quarks and such, keep popping into and out of existence in a decidedly unmaterial way.) And very recently, the vivid perception of my life's ups and downs, has again driven home the fact that waves are also the most basic stuff of my personal psychology.

Waves, of course, have phases, ups and downs, crests and troughs. These two phases, zenith and nadir, equal each other, the height being only as high as the depth is deep. As we all witness at the beach, the crests of ocean waves break, curling over into white water as they near shore, when their lower ends, their troughs, break against the seafloor.

Decades ago I coupled this oceanic phenomenon with my emotional reality in a line of a poem: "And as the trough does match the crest / So now the worst does match the best." Today, it arises again as I consider two new ventures:

1) People understand the importance of diet and exercise in maintaining their health. This is true not only in the long-term, but also in the short. Feeling good immediately after exercising gets me out on my bicycle. Feeling bad soon after eating cheap sweets keeps me from eating them. Still, going to the gym or Zumba class, or waiting to eat the second cookie (so that your pancreas can calibrate the amount of insulin needed to lower your blood sugar) is just one piece of an overall, holistic lifestyle that keeps the doctor away.

San Miguel Natural is a support group that promotes many simple, natural choices for healthier, more conscious living. Over WhatsApp and through in-person discussions our mission is to become more aware of the goals and obstacles that surround treating ourselves better. San Miguel has many natural, holistic practitioners, and many of the best of those join us in this project.

Then also, if you are not lucky enough to live here, San Miguel Natural encourages holistic tourism, offering living accommodations to out of town guests for short or extended visits. Inquiries are welcome. See more at www.sanmiguelnatural.com

2) Club Lokkal is the bricks and mortar side of Lokkal's digital community building, a welcoming community center with events for the Mexican and expat communities (and available for private rental). As Lokkal online is SMA's digital town square, so Club Lokkal will be an off-line gathering space, a non-profit hub linking us together. We are currently arranging our Fall schedule of offerings including classes, demonstrations, socials, dinners... Please stay tuned.

Dad said that if something doesn't feel risky, then it's not worth doing. Like the ups and downs of a wave, I alternately look forward to my new projects and worry about them. And this roller-coastering, my higher heights and deeper depths, makes me question my stability. My quandary is reflected in the architecture of this, my new house.

I could live quite comfortably, alone in the lovely third floor apartment here that is being constructed. With a little bit of luck (we are in Mexico), that will be ready for my occupancy by the start of September. Or I could expand beyond my solitary third-floor living to follow my dreams, creating San Miguel Natural and Club Lokkal here on the first floor (where I am residing at least until the third-floor is ready).

I don't need more work; but these projects are very dear to my heart, the fulfillment of my life's mission. Natural health and community are easy for me. But, I've always been ahead of my time and I wonder, do the communities, Mexican and expat, want either type of center?

I'm not signing any contracts. My landlord understands that I am testing the waters. The few people that I've told about them love the ideas. Let me broadcast the news more widely and see what I can line up. September is the perfect time to launch.

Words are magic. Language shapes thought, which shapes belief, which shapes reality. Writing about it, as I am doing now, makes it more likely to be so. As in the first frame of the comic book story, the picture is coming to life.

Giving the difficulty voice, expressing it, makes it easier to navigate, to keep my head above the water. The wave is propelling me forward, carrying me towards shore. When it breaks it will be time to surf. Kowabunga!