(not necessarily in that order)
We had dear friends over for dinner tonight.
An actual sit down and eat together meal, inside our house, for the first time since the pandemic began.
We’ve had occasional gatherings elsewhere with friends and family, but it really feels good to be able to entertain in our home once again.
Jyotish and Devi have been on fire in their classes this Inner Renewal Week.
They express so much wisdom, love, and joy in their every word and action, it’s a thrill to be in the room with them.
And most wondrous of all, is being able to call such great souls our friends.
Now that the concert is over, we’re getting caught up on some of the lighter aspects of Christmas.
Such as going “festive” for this morning’s Sunday service. I especially enjoyed the men’s Christmas ties. 😄
This evening we had invited friends over to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the original half-hour version with Boris Karloff narrating, of course!), which motivated us to finish the Christmas tree, set up the nativity scene, get out all the Christmas cups, and generally spiff up the apartment.
Now it’s really feeling like Christmas has arrived in our home — and just in time!
And we spent part of the afternoon sitting on the Master’s Market lawn — enjoying the sunshine and blossoming trees; greeting friends as they walked by; and enjoying a muffin from Prita’s Cafe!
Spring is here and life is good. 😊
I’m always a little surprised, yet deeply comforted, when I “own up” to my low moments and then receive so much loving support and encouragement in return. I have the world’s best network of friends, for whom I am so very, very grateful!
One of those friends reminded me about the astrological perspective. Which brought to mind a quote from my astrologer friend, Drupada: “It’s just astrological weather.”
Yep. And like the physical weather, it can be messy and inconvenient and scary at times, but it passes. 🌈
I’m feeling so blessed! Yesterday’s sharing of some doubts and concerns immediately resulted in an outpouring of support and encouragement from friends far and near.
Having people in one’s corner — believing in you, praying for you, knowing that all will be well with you — makes all the difference in the world.
Thank you, friends! 💗
I’ve been reflecting on how huge and exciting small things feel these days.
This morning I made it to Master’s Market at the tail end of “Healthy Senior Shopping” hours. This was the first time I actually browsed the aisles and shopped since we started self-isolating in mid-March!
Small but huge.
We’ve been out of our usual hand soap refill for some time. What made it worse is that the last time (I thought) I purchased it, instead of the gel I accidentally picked up the watery liquid soap for foaming dispensers. So, after not being able to find it anywhere for weeks, the other day it was in stock at Target, so I ordered it, and it arrived yesterday.
Small but huge.
A community resident did a Costco run today and was able to buy us a large container of spring mix — yay! And when I went to pick it up I was able to say hello (masked and from a distance, of course) to several friend/neighbors I hadn’t seen in almost six weeks.
Small but HUGE.
Thank you, God, for blessings small but huge.😄
Amen.💕
When I’m out walking nowadays I usually see somewhere between three to five other people, either walking or driving by.
What a contrast to the “good ole days” of two weeks ago(!), when a Tuesday saw me moving from home to the music office to Master’s Market or Expanding Light for lunch to the mail room to the Temple of Light for choir rehearsal. I could easily encounter a hundred friends in the course of the day!
Now, in order to check in and see how friends are doing, I need to either write, call, video chat, or text. Which means putting it on my to-do list so I don’t completely forget about it in the midst of all the other tasks of my day.
I’ll never take all those brief, spontaneous, joy-filled encounters for granted again.
Maybe it was something astrological. All I know is…today was perhaps the most communication-intensive day I’ve ever had!
I chatted with friends old and new over breakfast; conversed with Village friends at lunch; connected in the mid-afternoon with yet more friends; and spent time with new out-of-town friends during dinner.
Altogether I interacted with twelve different people: at a friend’s house off-property; at Master’s Market; in the Lahiri building kitchen; in the music office; and at The Expanding Light Retreat.
Topics included (among others) how we met our husbands; gardening; the importance of the arts at Ananda; whether or not to play the melody when chanting with harmonium; and strategies for growing the choir at an urban Ananda center.
Connecting with so many different people often feels overwhelming and draining, but today I managed to simply flow with it and had a lot of fun!
We’re at the midpoint of Inner Renewal Week and I’m already feeling “full up”!
Filled to the brim morning after morning with wisdom and inspiration from Jyotish and Devi. Filled with soul joy from so much singing. Filled with gratitude for opportunities to connect with dear friends — old and new!
So tonight is the moment to take a breather. Aaahhhh… 😎