The new friends I have made here inspire me every day. In my mind's eye, my adventure seems extreme but having met the people I have met here I realize that my time frame pales in comparison to the journeys that they are on. Each are experiencing the world in a variety of ways for their own individual reasons.
Sarah is a social worker from London with a vivacious spirit and wicked sense of humour. She has been travelling around the world for the past year. India is her final destination. She will end her journey here with a 10 day silent meditation in Mumbai. She doesn't know what she wants to do when she gets back home to England but doesn't seemed concerned about it in the least.
Stefan and Linda are a married couple from the Netherlands. They have been together for 18 years and act like newlyweds. They have been travelling for 6 months and will continue to do so for 6 more. They were inspired to take off for a year when a close friend of theirs passed away. With this deep loss they realized how precious life and their time here was. They have travelled all across the US, down to Costa Rica, Australia, Malaysia, Nepal and now India which will be followed by Singapore and future undecided locations.
Rob and Louisa are also travelling for a year. They are a backpacking couple who have been living in Australia and decided to take off to experience the world en route to their final destination in London. Louisa works in non profit and Rob is an architect who works with sustainable materials. They travel around without a plan, pulled by wherever seems to draw them based on people that they meet along the way.
Lita is a new friend who arrived yesterday. She is a beautiful Italian woman in her 50s who has been living in Miami for the past 3 years. She lived in Los Angeles prior to Florida. She is recovering from chemotherapy treatment for Cancer and has come to India to heal her spirit. Her plan is to travel on her own around the world for the next year but, like me, felt an instant connection to India and may decide to stay here for the majority of her trip. She and I felt an instant connection. When we met with Swami Ji last night he encouraged us both to begin our community service here next week. I have inquired about working with children and animals, which she is interested in as well, and he will give us appropriate assignments soon. I can't wait to begin!
This past Sunday, a group of us took a walk up to the now defunct Maharishi Ashram where The Beatles used to stay and famously wrote most of the White Album. After having slipped a few rupees to the guard, the gates were opened to a magical world of miles of stone huts and meditation caves overlooking all of Rishikesh and the Ganga River. I instantly felt a wave of inspiration standing on the top of the mountain. Had I had a musical gene in me, I would have happily whipped out a guitar and burst into song. But alas, that not being my path, I came back to my room and sketched instead.
New friends arrive here every day. My heart is constantly flooded with gratitude for their kindness and generosity of spirit. I speak to almost everyone I come into contact with. There are lessons to be learned everywhere I go.
"You must not let your life run in the ordinary way; do something that nobody else has done, something that will dazzle the world. Show that God's creative principle works in you." (Paramahansa Yogananda)
Sending you love and light from the Ganga River.
xoxo
