visit with swami, back home

I am so grateful that our children know this wonderful, kind, giving, patient, humble man who goes wherever he is asked to help people whether it's Haiti, India, or New Orleans.  Who travels around the U.S. inspiring people, who sleeps little, who prays over the food, who cooks for us, who has a great sense of humor, and who loves my kids.

I am so grateful that I got to spend a week with him.  I always learn so much, mostly by observing him.

He told a group of people a story that really affected me.  When he first joined the ashram in India, everyone was assigned seva (selfless service).  He was given the job of cleaning the cowshed.  He was a learned filmmaker and had just graduated from the most prestigious film school in India.  He figured he would be asked to help with photography or video.  He figured it would be an important job.  He figured he would be given the perfect camera to work with.  Needless to say he was annoyed to be relegated to the position of a farm worker.

He hated the seva.  One day he decided he wasn't going to milk the cows.  He wasn't going to clean the shed.  He was just going to meditate.

So he sat down and closed his eyes.

Soon he heard a rustling noise.  He opened his eyes and found Amma herself feeding and milking the cows.  She scolded him, saying that the animals were hungry and uncomfortable, and counting on someone to take care of them.  She wouldn't let him help.  Every time he tried she shooed him away.  He felt horrible and ashamed, watching Amma do all the work.  But true to Amma's ways, she was teaching through her example.

The next day he went back to the cowshed and did his seva with gusto.  Every day thereafter he went and took care of the animals, feeding them, milking them, cleaning their stalls.  He began to really love the animals.  He began to love cleaning the cowshed.  He began to really love his seva. 

And that was the beginning of his life as a monk.

A week after hearing that story I began to see my seva as a wife and mother differently.  I was a little burned out.  I had a girl who had been helping me clean but she stopped coming in December.  The kids had been on school break and returned while I was on retreat.  I was feeling overwhelmed at getting all of the work done once the kids were back in school, worried I would have no free time for myself.  Housework, cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry, vacuuming, taking the trash and recycling and compost out...for a mother the work can feel endless.  But there was work to be done.  So I began deep cleaning the house, one room at a time.  I wiped baseboards.  I rearranged drawers in the kitchen.  I cleaned out closets and got rid of stuff we don't need.  I put out small vases of flowers.   I began taking my house back.  And Gary is now folding all of the laundry.  The kids are pitching in more.  For me, every day of seva is so enjoyable.  I try to enjoy it all, whether it's things I love, like gardening, or things I don't enjoy, like dishes.  Somehow it all feels more like the same to me.  If I am in a good mood, and singing to myself, it doesn't matter what I am doing.  And every room I clean makes me feel so good, so accomplished.  The house is being loved, and the house seems happy.  And no one will love it like we will.        

part two of the retreat that seems so long ago

On the third day the sun came out.  After breakfast and meditation, we went to the beach and walked and swam.  Then we all went out to lunch.  I got Thai food.  I walked around the gardens on the property, snapping a few photos.  We ate a wonderful Indian dinner prepared by a group of ladies.  That evening there was a public program with an inspirational talk and devotional songs, up in the room I was sleeping in.  I was settling into my solitude and could feel my quiet heart.

On the forth day I slept in.  Then I took a walk in the neighborhood with my friend Lucy and her dog, Shama.  The area reminded me of a place I once lived.  Some of the group went to the beach, a different one this time.  We went out for lunch.  Then we went for smoothies and stopped off at a sustainable farm where we did an informal tour.  That day I thought about integrity, and peace, and stilling the mind.  The mind, the mind, the mind... is it ever still?  Maybe for a few seconds.  The evening ended with another public spiritual program.  I ran the mini bookstore both nights and sold some items, which was fun.  All of the profits go to humanitarian charities.  At ten o'clock we ate yet another dinner prepared by the same group of ladies.  

On the fifth day I packed my bags and had my final breakfast of toast, ghee, honey.  Fresh squeezed tangerine juice mixed with whey powder to make a frothy smoothie.  A quick meditation and it was time to pack the cars and trucks and head to the airport.  But first we stopped off for lunch at the Thai place, coming full circle.

What a beautiful trip.  What a beautiful gift I was able to give myself, a place to return to year after year.  Thanks G and my kids and Bill and Lucy and Swami for making it happen.

retreat

I had the most restful and longest and quietest retreat ever.  I was spoiled and taken care of by so many people.  Everywhere I went people were feeding me or treating me out for lunch.  I went away with two friends from home to join a bigger group.  I left home with a bad back that wouldn't give and after four nights and five days away I came home rested and pain free.  That was just one of the many gifts of this time away.

The first day we flew in and met up with five more people (including Swami) in a tiny tropical airport.  I rode in the jump seat of a truck with some bananas, a large rare, spiky skinned ripe fruit, a small paint can, some luggage.  The men in the front seat discussed business and I looked out the window, quiet.  I was so happy.  We went out for delicious Thai food.  Swami was quiet except for when he told a great story about a mongoose and selflessness and pure-heartedness that I am writing down for our children.  When we arrived at the house where we were staying it was raining.  It rained the entire day.  I loved it.  Everywhere the plants were glistening.  I wore pants and socks and a sweatshirt the entire day.   I made people tea, and helped the ladies cook.  When the rain stopped, a glorious full rainbow appeared in the sky, and stayed for a long time.  Every day I had plenty of time for my meditation, and did it in a beautiful large room where I stayed by myself.  There were so many people in the group that seven of them rented a house nearby.  Since the huge room I was in was usually reserved for women's quarters, and I was the only woman guest, I got the entire room to myself.  The property I stayed on has a several acre botanical garden.  

The second day was a rest day with no programs.  It rained and I stayed inside.  I didn't mind at all.  For breakfast I had bread with homemade ghee and honey from the property's local hives.  I helped make lunch.  We made Mexican food with cooked peppers, onions, and the best guacamole ever.  I did some yoga, I talked to a friend on the phone, I talked to my family via Skype and I took a long nap.  We all had dinner at the group's house around the corner.  Ajitha, a woman from India, who told me she didn't cook much, was in charge of dinner. The. Best. Indian. Food. Ever.  One more person flew in and our group was complete.  Fourteen people, my lucky number.   

I was very quiet these first two days.  I took advantage of the opportunity to talk less, with fewer demands on me and my time.  I was in a houseful of people, in a large group.  I was very quiet, quieter than I have maybe ever been.  It was great. 

the bostick boys visit

Some old friends visited for a few days.  Although they stayed in a nearby hotel we fit in many hours of fun together including lots of beach time and boogie boarding, hanging in the pool and hot tub, meals in, meals out, storytelling, music played (by all five kids - it was very cool to see other kids who write songs!) and lots of laughter.

hello new year!

I think it's going to be a good one.