(not necessarily in that order)
We’re wrapping up our staycation and preparing for reentry.
I’ve never really thought about it before, but ending a vacation and preparing to get back into your regular routine is like merging onto a freeway: ready or not, you have to increase your speed in order to slip right into the flow of traffic.
Which will be us tomorrow morning, jumping right back into singing for Sunday service. 😜
We capped our week off with a downright magical visit to the new home of dear friends (and former housemates), Nandadevi and Sundara.
It had been way too long since we spent real time together, but we certainly made up for it this evening: after three hours we still had a hard time tearing ourselves away!
A beautiful day. A relaxing (and not too long) drive. Trees with autumn foliage. Strolling through Downieville. A delicious lunch while listening to 80’s music. Sitting by the river. A relaxed drive home. Just me and Ramesha.
Perfect.
Amen to that (and nothing to add)!
The big one for me right now…oh, who do I think I’m kidding? The big one for me right now and always is: “SLEEP like you love yourself.”
Which translates as: consistently going to bed early enough to get enough sleep that my body can heal and I can wake up nice and early without a lot of stress or strain.
Sounds like a fairy tale. I’m really starting to wonder If I’ll ever be able to make it happen.
A friend quite rightly pointed out that it would probably be a good idea for me to let go of the daily blog post during this little staycation.
The thing is, writing a blog post every single day for over a year is the commitment with which I’ve been the most consistent in a long time. So, I really don’t want to mess that up.
On the other hand, this is my week to take things easy; to relax; and most of all — to try and catch up on sleep!
The answer? Compromise! For the rest of the week I’ll simply post a quote or a beautiful photo or a couple of sentences about a particulary fun activity…and call it good!
Well, I did watch Sunday service. And I made my veggie/fruit smoothie, then washed some dishes.
Later I sat outside in the sun and drank tea.
I made a few phone calls but didn’t reach anybody.
That’s pretty much it.
Gosh, it feels lovely to be non-productive.
The good: this morning’s workday was wonderful! The best part was spending time with dear friends (outdoors and safely masked, of course), sharing laughter and stories. But it was also great fun being in the fresh air, doing something that’s outside our regular flow, and helping to beautify the Expanding Light grounds.
The bad: my hands, especially the left, are really sore from pulling weeds all morning! So this is enough typing for tonight. 🖐😂
Yep, tomorrow we begin our staycation and, even though we’re “vacationing” here at home, we’re determined to use this time for some serious R & R.
Of course, Divine Mother being such a jokester, the first day of our time off is (you guessed it) a community work day!
And, yes, a snall part of me groaned when I realized it. Instead of sleeping in, I’ll be getting up earlier than what I’ve been managing to do lately (which isn’t saying much, actually!😏), then working at the Expanding Light for the entire morning.
Luckily, Ramesha and I are experienced enough devotees to not be tempted to stay home (well, at least not much). Why? Because we know that “service is joy” and also because we don’t want to repeat the past experience of having wimped out and stayed home, only to kick ourselves later as we look at the radiant faces of dear friends having fun and enjoying satsang while joyfully serving.
I mean, that’s the experience we’re here for! To expand beyond the sense of our little selves and know that we’re part of that “something more” which is all love and power and peace and bliss!
Which is why I can hardly wait! 😊
I ran into a dear friend today and we commiserated (from behind our masks) about how things are feeling harder lately, rather than easier.
I think it’s partly due to the subtle but very real stress of trying to maintain normalcy in these extremely abnormal times. Staying centered and calm, cheerful and even-minded takes a heck of a lot of energy these days.
And then there’s the fact that it’s already fall, but I feel like I wasn’t able to be entirely present for spring or summer. I want to say something more about it, but — really — all I can do is shake my head.
In disbelief.