Today and everyday, I’m grateful for the kindness of strangers that become friends…
I have been traveling for 2 weeks now and have immersed myself in a completely different life…I wake up not to an alarm clock, but to the sun…I had been starting my days with surf in Bali and now yoga in India, instead of rushing off to work inside the hospital…I eat when I’m hungry…I nap when I’m tired…and I fill my down time reading books and enjoying the company of my traveling companions…I am learning how to be a better healer through the art therapy of making mandalas, reflexology, ayurvedic medicine, and reiki…
Bali was incredibly beautiful and I challenged myself in conditions that a surfer can only dream about…perfect overhead set waves and left point breaks that seamlessly curled down the line and crashed over the underlying reef…I was amazed by the colors of the Indian Ocean deep azure fading into jade greens and the clear of the waves breaking…for the 3 days that we spent in Bingin Beach, the ocean was my front yard and I happily played outside…
I could meditate on the waves for hours when the tides were too low for me to brave the reef…or walk along the tide pools, finding bright blue coral…I was amazed how the black sands at Keramas Beach sparkled like diamonds and held to my skin even days after…
I was challenged by illness but taken care of like family by a local girl named Nuri. We were but strangers until conversation about life & traveling to India made us friends…just as easily as striking up conversation with an Australian named Francis provided a pediatric physio job offer in Melbourne!
Thinking back I realize how all relationships start from that moment when we share that same space in time…and I’m so fortunate that I have so far had the opportunity to share these moments with dear and new friends alike!
Being able to offer my time also as a volunteer for the Khusi Hona Orphan Project fills my heart with love & gratitude to be a part of such an amazing cause. We’ve spent the past few days with the Kripasaran Childrens Home here in Darjeeling in West Bengal, India. Last night we brought the girls educational & fun games and books, such as my favorite book: “Pride & Prejudice”, maps of the world and pictures of animals. I taught them how to play games from my childhood and from the hospital such as Checkers, Candyland and Guess Who…but they taught me much more… they filled my heart with laughs, smiles & attempts for me to learn Hindi calling me: “sister! sister! come sit!” It was so very hard to leave, but our purpose continues onto Varansi tomorrow & they had much more studying to do! I was so pleased to learn how some of the girls are attending nursing school! The gift of education that these organizations are providing will only continue to empower these girls into strong & independent lives of their own!
India is an amazing spiritually connected country, that it is palpable to all the senses. I felt the heartbeat of the drum at the Japanese Peace Pagoda with each step…I could see the breeze against the prayer flags hanging in the doorway and the sunlight reflecting against the prayer wheel at the Buddhist Temple…I smell the damp air as the Islamic prayers are broadcasted as I awake in the mornings…I taste the sweet naan, spicy curry & bitter beer haha…but there is even more besides what we can sense…there is the unknown…the unseen…but it resides somewhere within & surrounding us…
This morning I awoke to truly a gift from God, as for a few rare moments, the snow-capped Himalayas shined through the constant covering thin fog here. This time of year it is monsoon season, and to be able to see across that distance is usually deemed impossible. We are at over 7,000′ elevation above the clouds & to say it is a spiritual place here is an understatement. Overwhelmed with its beauty & majesty, I held my hands to my heart and reached my arms out to the sky in prayer & gratitude…we are never alone under the same sky!
The Gratitude Leap 