(not necessarily in that order)
Today, on International Women’s Day, I celebrate all the strong, determined, visionary, committed women whose struggles — over many years — made life better for the women of today.
And I pray not to fall into complacency or take those gains for granted.
Today we celebrate the Mahasamadhi (the conscious exit of an enlightened soul from the body) of my guru, Paramhansa Yogananda.
Thinking about his greatness and the blessing he has been in my life, I reflect on his powerful words:
“Remember this: When I am gone, only love can take my place. Be absorbed night and day in the love of God, and give that love to all.“
What a promise. And what an assignment. I have a ways to go to “be absorbed night and day in the love of God,” but still — I try my best to give God’s love to all.
A definition of satsang that I like is: “the act of gathering with like-minded, uplifting people, especially those on a spiritual path.”
So, today was most definitely a day filled with satsang — from start to finish.
First off was the monthly staff meeting of our Ananda Worldwide outreach ministries. Led by Jyotish and Devi, it’s always deeply inspiring to hear the reports from the various departments.
Next was our weekly music team meeting — always fun, but today was particularly interesting as we explored new directions for our YouTube presence.
There was time in the afternoon to actually get some of my own work done, but the evening was spent at the Ananda Meditation Retreat — sharing about Ananda Music with the current Living Discipleship group.
A satisfying day filled to the brim with one joyous satsang after another.
It’s been so busy this past week that I almost missed voting today.
I finally filled out my mail-in ballot and dropped it off at the voting center in North San Juan right before our 6:30 pm rehearsal. That’s definitely cutting it close!
The concerning thing is that I had a moment late in the afternoon when it seemed useless to vote, and I was tempted not to make the ten-minute drive to drop off my ballot. It made me realize that I was being affected by the negativity and cynicism that is so prevalent in our world right now. This got my attention!
It also renewed my commitment to vote and made me determined to pull back even more from reading the news. Doing so pulls down my energy and makes it that much harder to be a positive force for good in the world.
Then, with perfect timing, a friend shared this quote from her guru, Amma:
Don’t be discouraged by your inability to dispel all the darkness in this world; just light your one candle, and let it shine.
This really spoke to me today. Such an important reminder…BE KIND. Not just to others, but also to OURSELVES!
Me: Hey God.
God: Hello, My love.
Me: The world is completely out of control!
God: I know. It’s such an adventure, right?
Me: No! It’s like being on a runaway train! I need to feel like I am in control of my life.
God: You want to be in control?
Me: Yes!
God: You are living on a spinning wet rock of a planet that resides next to a constantly exploding fireball in the middle of an ever-expanding universe that is filled with mysteries beyond your wildest imagination.
Me: Um, okay….
God: And on this planet that you are hurtling through the great expanse in — you are coexisting with billions of other people who have free-will and their own experiences that shape their perspectives and beliefs.
Me: Yeah…?
God: And while all this is going on your soul is residing in a physical body that is such a miracle of delicate engineering that at any given moment could produce its last heartbeat.
Me: Right…
God: What is it about your existence that you think you have any control of?
Me: Um…
God: Come on — you know the answer to this. What can you control?
Me: How kind I am to people?
God: Yep and one other thing.
Me: What’s that?
God: How kind you are to yourself. Aside from that — most of everything else is a bit outside of your design.
Me: This is a bit terrifying…
God: All great adventures are!
~ john roedel
You know those times when you go a little too hard, for a little too long, and get a little too tired? And all of a sudden you realize your body is almost out of reserves and if you’re not careful you could come down with something?
Well, that’s how I’m feeling today. On the brink, but backpedaling furiously and refusing to go over the edge.
I took a nap this afternoon; will go to bed early tonight; have been drinking hot tea; and staying warm and cozy. I expect to feel fine tomorrow.
Just a small representative sampling of the scores of people who love this guy.
Happy birthday, amore mio! 💖
Tonight we got together with some friends to watch a movie in the (infrequently used) common room of one of the Village housing clusters.
Imagine our surprise when we found a phone book from 2010 (“please recycle after January 2011,” it says).
It was rather surreal how completely foreign it felt to me to try and look up someone’s name. And yet, that’s the way it was done — back in the day.
I spent many years — decades and decades — either performing for or attending musical events throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
Starting in my teens and lasting until I moved first to Europe and eventually to Ananda Village, late nights were the rule and a wide variety of music venues were my most accustomed milieu.
But today I’m faced with the reality that all that is very much in the past. Last night’s hour and a half drive to Chico and then another hour and a half to get home again — on a weeknight, no less! — left me pretty much wiped out all day long.
The concert and the night out with friends was a lot of fun, but I’m fairly confident we won’t be in a hurry to repeat it.
Huh. Maybe this is how I know I’m getting old. 🤔
Yes, it’s an honest-to-goodness night out with friends. We’re driving to Chico for dinner and then a show. I’ll share all about it tomorrow. Gotta run!