Today was a bumpy reentry back to the everyday world of laundry, errands, and grocery shopping.
All while feeling quite fatigued. And more than a little cranky (though I did my best to rein it in).
Ah, duality!
Post-recording blues
My favorite day
It’s probably because I’m (literally) a solstice baby, but I absolutely love the summer solstice.
There really is a magical quality about the longest day for me.
Of course, with tomorrow will arrive the awareness that we’re now heading in the opposite direction — toward the shortest day.
Such a great example of duality.
But for now….Happy Solstice!
Ever-present duality
The past three days have been quite the contrast to my week of Ayurveda bliss!
Here’s what I’ve been up to from shortly after my return home (Tuesday morning) to now (Thursday evening): town for bloodwork; grocery shopping; Mahasamadhi event; monthly Sangha meeting; music team meeting; office; town for appointments with oncologist and the infusion center; more grocery shopping; Oratorio rehearsal…while also catching up on a backlog of emails and messages.
It actually feels like a bit of a cosmic joke!
Gardening ups and downs
The UP side: experiencing the satisfaction and joy of creating a beautiful, nurturing space in our patio area.
The DOWN side: the realization that I can’t just leave for six weeks without making arrangements for someone to water my plants.
Bottom line? Duality is manifesting itself through my garden.
Up and then down
Last week ended on a high note, as I dealt with the bone marrow biopsy with flying colors. It was a beautiful experience of what can happen when you combine lots of prayer support with raising one’s energy.
But this week started on a low note, as I woke up with some sort of intestinal upset that completely threw off my morning routine and made me wonder whether I would even be able to make the drive to town.
I couldn’t really eat the breakfast I had carefully prepared the night before (since I had to fast for four hours before my afternoon chemical stress test). We were late, of course, and then we had to wait a while for our lab tech to be ready for us. All I could do in the meantime was lie down on a couch in the waiting room.
By afternoon my gut had stopped it’s cramping and churning, but the whole thing has left me so drained that I can hardly type.
Coincidence? Or yet another example of the balancing contrast of duality?
Ah well, I’m sure a good night’s sleep will fully restore me!
Duality with a capital D
Since I don’t live on a desert island, I of course saw headlines and read comments about something unusual that happened during the Oscars involving actor Will Smith.
I went online and read just enough to understand the basics, then made the conscious decision not to read any further.
After all, there’s no way in the world I could possibly understand the personalities, subtleties, and complexities that are involved — especially since I don’t personally know any of these people!
(Of course, in our culture of celebrity it’s not considered necessary to know people in order to have, and be passionately attached to, a strong opinion about what they should do or shouldn’t have done and why. 🤦♀️)
Though I don’t know enough to have an opinion, I will make a few observations.
Unhappy, imbalanced, reactive people are found in every race, nationality, and creed; in every income bracket; and in every type of work or career — from clerk in a grocery store to President of the United States to Will Smith.
I can’t know the specifics of what makes a person unhappy, imbalanced, and reactive, but I do know that Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars were not the actions of a happy, balanced, proactive individual.
I find it sad that an evening which should have been about celebrating an Oscar-winning performance, will instead be remembered as the time he lost it and slapped Chris Rock on live television.
Bottom line? I see it as an all too perfect example of duality — from the heights to the depths in one glamourous evening.
Home again, home again
I love where we live and am grateful to have such serene beauty to come home to.
On the other hand, it came as a bit of a shock to be in such warm weather after four days of cool, misty fog!
And it was a little jarring to be fully immersed in work and meetings and plans after four days of complete relaxation.
Ah well, duality strikes again!
Blog year-in-review (part 1)
I don’t know what I was thinking when I said I was going to “get comfortable” and read through this past year’s blog posts; I mean…that’s 365 posts!
So far I’m only up to October 1, but it’s been quite a process. Especially revisiting all the preparations and excitement of Ananda’s 50th anniversary and dedication of the Temple of Light!
I mean, talk about duality…
We’ve gone from the incredible high of joining together with hundreds and hundreds of devotees from around the globe, not to mention singing as a literal World Brotherhood Choir of over one hundred singers, to “sheltering-in-place” while maintaining physical distance even from fellow Village residents, with choir off limits indefinitely due to the fact that singing is a “super-spreading” activity.
The contrast is almost unfathomable in its intensity. But we’re finding our way in this new “landscape” and actually reaching more people than ever as Ananda throughout the world embraces the new online reality.
But yeah, this little trip down memory lane has been somewhat bittersweet.
Wrung out
A day spent tackling complicated, bureaucratic-type projects; following up on performance commitments; grieving the loss of a dear member of the community; and manifesting a choral expression of our love for that friend.
A full day which has left me feeling equal parts good about what I accomplished and wrung out from all that I accomplished!
Duality.
Six months and a day
Yesterday: Whoopee! Reached the six months of daily blogging milestone! Feeling good.
Today: Duh. Can’t think of anything inspiring or exciting or interesting to say. Feeling bleh.
Can you say: DUALITY?!?