Sandalwood and Jasmine

Namaste~

I am nearing the end of this cycle, phase, moment,span, and/or experience in southern India. In this place that has drawn me close and held me lovingly, a sense of completion has arisen inside of me. This fulfillment is paralleled closely by its compliment, a sense of beginning. As in the yin and yang philosophy, with manifestation comes potential and activity. Both dwell within me.

As I sit here, the smells of sandalwood and jasmine permeate the air. Knowing how closely aroma is tied to memory, I wonder which moments will remain the strongest within me. Will it be olfactory ties that suddenly bring me back to Besant Rd during the nightly hustle and bustle in the cool summer air, or to my rooftop where Gouri and I, out stretched on a fiberous mat, waxed poetic under a dilated moon? Will a savory trace of curry or cardamom transport me back to a table on which the only setting is a banana leaf, or to my solitary walk to meet my yoga teacher accompanied only by the symphony of traffic and horns? Or will the city that has become my garden melt away with time, and only the feelings of joy and peace that it has proffered remain?

Although the moments and memories may be fleeting, the ephemeral nature of my time here, will undoubtedly be transformed to permanence in the form of perpetual love and everlasting energy. India has been a dreaming tree, a revealer of secrets, a keeper of keys to previously locked gates. This is not because India carries truths of no other place in this earthly realm, no. It is a result of my unique path. I was prepared to journey boldly in a stationary fashion to find the truths that are always with us.I may have been on Indian soil but more vitally, I was ready to silently and patiently look within.

I thank you all for enjoying part of this journey with me. It brings mist to my eyes contemplating the amount of love in this world, and being able to share that with the community around me. As Gouri and I took a lovely, slow paced rickshaw ride to the lassi (sweetened milk drink) stand last night, Gouri reminded me of this karmic bubble of love I find myself in. She did so with a very simple statement. "There are only good people around you," she said, and in part, she was speaking of you.

Love like each breath we take,
Haley