I am writing after a long hiatus. Travel is just one excuse. So is the excuse of hectic work schedule with back to back teaching in classrooms and workshops. But truth be told, I was not ready to share and write my stories.
Growing up hearing stories from my dad and grandmother, I remember one such tale of Buddha where a mother comes to Buddha seeking remedy for her son who eats sugar all the time. Buddha kept on sending the mother back every time asking her to come back after a week. He kept repeating this for several weeks. Finally, one day when the mother came to meet Buddha and asked him what she should do with her son’s habit. Budhha told her ‘tell him not to eat sugar’. Mother was surprised with his answer and asked him why he took such a long time to say such simple words. Buddha smiled and said that he was eating sugar himself all these time and how could he tell her son not to eat sugar! :-)
It is like how can I ‘preach’ when I am not in ‘practice’!
I am back home and it’s such a good feeling. I didn’t have time to recuperate from travel fatigue this time but I did need time to absorb many things – emotions, meanings, and more importantly, understand me! Yes, understand me – the real me! So, I am writing about my practice when I am back with my practice. I want to be real. I want to be honest about sharing what I share and not just filling this page with posts after posts.
When we travel we meet people – different kinds of people. And such travels become a journey in life – we learn, we unlearn, we absorb energies – we like some and we get repulsed by some energy. We react, we experience different emotions, we see our expectations unfolding, we reflect, we grow. Well, I am sure, we all have our journeys but then we all don’t have the same learnings. It all depends on the phase you are in – you only get to fill up that much depending on the container you carry! Think about it….
It is an interesting realisation I have this time. We can look inward and introspect and know ourselves. We can meditate and see energies within and around us, and we can know ourselves. We also learn about us when we meet people and know ourselves in response to our reactions, in response to our feelings, in response to our emotions. This learning about us is such an interplay of inward and outward journeys. This is such an exhilarating feeling – such growth. Only thing is if one is open then only one can see :-)
My vipassna practice helps me see things clearly and helps me keep the focus when things around me are hazy. Often such haze are so heavy that it takes time to lift it away but again if you reflect and look inside you, such haze does not really bear any weight as we give meaning to our confusions, the way we would like to see. Confusions are also creations of mind. If you are clear in your head, there exist no confusion – you see clearly. All expectations get balanced and you exist in equilibrium brimming with positivity in your creativity and inspiration.
And thus we evolve to stay in balance. We become more accepting to the differences that exist around us.
I am happy to be back with my practice (and this post) on this Christmas day! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Stay happy. Stay in peace. Loads of cheers, happiness, warm wishes and metta to everyone wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you are experiencing.
Love. Laugh. Grow.
