I'm not really a believer in coincidence. The way I see it, between the power of the Universe and the power of our own minds to manifest, when we find ourselves in a situation that seems too good to be true or too right to be a casual mistake, it isn't coincidence but fate. So it is no coincidence that I've chosen to come to this particular place with the particular people I've met here so we can fulfill very particular purposes, individually and collectively.
My home for this month is Kannur, a growing, thriving city in the southernmost Indian state of Kerala. More specifically, I'm living with my hosts and volunteer coordinators, Ranjit and Katja, as well as a few other volunteers and family members. We all come from different places, speak in different native tongues, live very different lives in our respective homes. But we are here together in this place at this time because fate has made it so.
I wanted to have a spiritual experience in India, yet I didn't choose to spend my time at an ashram or studying scripture or anything like that. I opted to live with a family, work at a local medical clinic and immerse myself as much as possible in the pool of life in this place. I figured spirit would find me no matter where I am and what I'm doing, if my intention was strong and clear enough. I figured correctly.
By no coincidence, the translator who's been helping me at the clinic is of course a fellow Krishna lover who is all too happy to talk at length with me about Hinduism and drive me around on his motorcycle to visit the many different temples in the area. The medicine man I am assisting is a true Guru, deeply skilled in the arts of Ayurveda and Kalari, with healing hands, and though we cannot converse much, I am learning from him constantly. My host is something of a spiritual renaissance man, having dabbled in and gathered wisdom from many disciplines and ideologies. Accordingly, his crew is a diverse and interesting one, so our nightly gatherings up on the roof alternate between English folk and rock songs sung along with guitar strums, Sanskrit mantras chanted to hand claps, conversations highly esoteric and others simple, humorous and grounded.
Because I have no frame of reference from which to judge anyone or anything on outward appearance here, I have no expectations and am just constantly grateful when a meaningful moment or experience is offered up to me. What a refreshing way to be! It's what I work hard to do at home- suspend judgment, release expectations and just let the Universe deliver what it will. Definitely easier said than done. In India it is near effortless. I've placed my trust wholly in the hands of these "strangers" who are my friends and family here. I allow them to lead me in just about every sense. And I can do that with complete comfort and peace of mind because I know that I'm with the right people. I also know I have something to offer them as well. There is a reciprocity and balance about all the dynamics of and relationships within this group. It is beautiful.
What a gift to be right here, right now. I'm getting the opportunity to slow down, to open my heart, mind and eyes in new ways, to connect. I'd say that it's everything that I wanted, but it turns out to be so much more.
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