Will and I got back to work this week, me with my kiddies and Will in his lab with his petri dishes and water samples. Will is pumped that today is the first day of baseball season back in the states, and although he was sad to miss his fantasy baseball party back home with the boys, he isn't feeling to bad about the young pitchers that ended up on his team.
I got sick again this week, which was not fun. It was actually worse than the one last week, and although I will not share the gory details, it's taking me much longer to recover this time around.
Yesterday our friend Priyam took us up the hill a bit to a small restaurant called "Orchard" where we had a mix of Thai, Chinese and Indian food while sitting under an umbrella, looking over the small farms below and listening to....wait for it.....country folk music that I'm sure was pulled from my dad's CD collection back home. We relaxed, played cards and enjoyed the view.
Jo has lent me the West Wing series, which has been interesting to watch. It makes Will and I talk about what's going on back home with our own new president. It's harder to get regular information while we are here, not because it's not available to us but because at home everyone talks about it, where here we need to search out more on our own.
We've had to search out some of our own spiritual life here too. At home our responsibilities to our community kept us on a regular schedule of growing our selves in dialogue with others. Will and I are now struggling with how to do that together and on our own while we are away from the community that drives us forward. It's especially easy for me to let my mind and spirit go on vacation, and I often even find myself justifying this with all of the work that I have done over the past few years back in the states. But so much of that work was done to serve others, which in all honesty helped me feel good about myself. So here I am, knowing full well that I am only on this earth to serve one being... and it's not me. I've been reading this great book by H. Nouwan called "The way of the heart", which is leading me to write songs again and helping me remain connected to the one who offers the greatest love of all.
3 comments:
Lauren- i love this post! its making me think that some of the political talk you're talking about is just that- talk. that its nicer to sit and enjoy a chai tea under an umbrella. better to really become part of where you are right now, instead of imagining what could be happening somewhere else. i think everyone struggles with this no matter where they are physically. its where you are spiritually that matters- so it seems like- you're right where you need to be. thank you for continuing to share your journey.
more war in afghanistan and closing guantanamo bay prison next year.
the personal disciplines become increasingly important, glad you two are going for it.
i love reading about your journey - the spiritual journey is as important as the physical and emotional strain traveling does to our bodies. spiritual growth will probably leave the most impact. im fascinated by your adventures... thanks for sharing.
here in philly... rain, budget cuts, negative behavior systems,.. but its Spring Break... ill take that!!
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