My last 6 weeks in India were so wonderfully quiet and fulfilling that I did not think of reaching out to write a post. Especially the last 3 weeks, when the temperatures rose to 35 degrees C., my life had a pleasant routine: wake at 5, drink tea as the sun rises, walk around the gardens till breakfast and then organize the workers for planting and maintenance projects. After lunch and at 5 p.m. I gave English classes to the Indian staff. Evenings were spent together singing, watching a movie or playing UNO, my favorite card game. The jackfruit were ripening...what a joy to experience. Now the mango, papaya and banana trees are bearing their fruit as well. India, I miss you!
Now I am back since one week....it is quite an adjustment. So much space, so few people, so many clothes to wear! I'm shocked at how much "stuff" I have. Slowly everything will get a new home or go the way of all material things. I began with a huge fire on Easter Monday, where I burnt 30 years worth of personal diaries. Who cares anyway? Life is happening now.
I was tempted to go back to horse-back riding when I saw all my equipment stored away in the barn. Then I thought about it: 1 hour of riding lessons costs as much as one friend in India earns per month, in 200 hours of work building walls or painting window frames. No, I am beginning a new life of simplicity, needlessness and sharing.
This picture shows one of my favorite spring-time sights: a flock of Canada Geese taking off from a cornfield early in the morning. The sound and sight of them reaches back to my first days of life on this planet. The sun is rising over the Ottawa river beside my house. Thank you Nature, for this experience!
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