Two weeks ago, a passage Preparing For The Extraordinary: An Essential Practice was read out at Awakin Circle. It made me think of all those extraordinary incidents that have led to who I am at this very moment. In a few days, my sister and I will be embarking on a walking pilgrimage circumventing the River Narmada.
Many people asked what inspired us to do this. When I think of it, my very first association with the river Narmada was because of my grandfather and his forefathers, who chose to stay on the banks of the Narmada.
As children, we spent our summer breaks there with my cousins, eating mangoes, swimming in the river, sleeping under the open sky at night, gazing at the stars and constellations. The huge banyan tree that you might see in the picture used to be our second home. We would climb the tree, play around it, and swing on the roots coming down from its branches.
Besides that, the huge tree is an old Shiva temple. always felt that this place was my second home. As a child, I used to go into the temple, clean a little, and observe the oil lamp burning in the dark. Something that has constantly stayed with me over the years is the stillness and peace I have felt in these old, rustic temples. remember telling my mother that when I grow old, I will spend my last years in a similar temple on the banks of the Narmada. nd I still feel the same. His intention,n I feel,l is now manifesting in our walking pilgrimage. feel grateful to my grandfather and his lineage for choosing this place as their home, which became my home too:)
Talking about Rev, which is another name for Narmada, I feel her as a living entity, not a river. around her, I feel like I'm with my own mother. While growing up, every time I visited her, I kept telling her I would come back and stay with you someday. ere I come:) Someone asked me if I was worried, and I said not at all. Oh, mothers, who don't have others’ homes? meldon'th melt'sh and love melt it all. Surely, she knows she is going to take care of us with her deepest compassion.
And as I grew up a little more, I heard about pilgrimages taken by a few friends with the intention of finding God, good in others. got an opportunity to spend some time with these people, and I realized that they are like you and me, but they definitely took an extraordinary path to serve the world with their ordinary ways of being. Their journey has gently intersected with mine in different ways, ys and I feel them walking ahead of me in this pilgrimage. Their presence gives me the strength and courage to walk the path ahead.
With all the happy stories, I feel equally grateful to all those people who walked into my life with sandpaper and helped round my edges. I hurt that my heart felt the rejection that Mego saw as a blessing in disguise. I saw beauty in being vulnerable. I showed myself the depths of my resilience and the tenderness of my heart. Gateful to the U-turns, dead ends, and certain crossroads that brought me to the right destination. Those people who have walked into my life have woven a thread into this intention, and they would be walking with me on this pilgrimage.
As I close this note, I am reminded of this poem by Rev.Heng Sur, who wrote on his bowing pilgrimage:
Many people asked what inspired us to do this. When I think of it, my very first association with the river Narmada was because of my grandfather and his forefathers, who chose to stay on the banks of the Narmada.As children, we spent our summer breaks there with my cousins, eating mangoes, swimming in the river, sleeping under the open sky at night, gazing at the stars and constellations. The huge banyan tree that you might see in the picture used to be our second home. We would climb the tree, play around it, and swing on the roots coming down from its branches.
Besides that, the huge tree is an old Shiva temple. always felt that this place was my second home. As a child, I used to go into the temple, clean a little, and observe the oil lamp burning in the dark. Something that has constantly stayed with me over the years is the stillness and peace I have felt in these old, rustic temples. remember telling my mother that when I grow old, I will spend my last years in a similar temple on the banks of the Narmada. nd I still feel the same. His intention,n I feel,l is now manifesting in our walking pilgrimage. feel grateful to my grandfather and his lineage for choosing this place as their home, which became my home too:)
Talking about Rev, which is another name for Narmada, I feel her as a living entity, not a river. around her, I feel like I'm with my own mother. While growing up, every time I visited her, I kept telling her I would come back and stay with you someday. ere I come:) Someone asked me if I was worried, and I said not at all. Oh, mothers, who don't have others’ homes? meldon'th melt'sh and love melt it all. Surely, she knows she is going to take care of us with her deepest compassion.
And as I grew up a little more, I heard about pilgrimages taken by a few friends with the intention of finding God, good in others. got an opportunity to spend some time with these people, and I realized that they are like you and me, but they definitely took an extraordinary path to serve the world with their ordinary ways of being. Their journey has gently intersected with mine in different ways, ys and I feel them walking ahead of me in this pilgrimage. Their presence gives me the strength and courage to walk the path ahead.
With all the happy stories, I feel equally grateful to all those people who walked into my life with sandpaper and helped round my edges. I hurt that my heart felt the rejection that Mego saw as a blessing in disguise. I saw beauty in being vulnerable. I showed myself the depths of my resilience and the tenderness of my heart. Gateful to the U-turns, dead ends, and certain crossroads that brought me to the right destination. Those people who have walked into my life have woven a thread into this intention, and they would be walking with me on this pilgrimage.
As I close this note, I am reminded of this poem by Rev.Heng Sur, who wrote on his bowing pilgrimage:
"Being brittle and hard is easy;It takes courage to be kind.Being stingy and selfish comes naturally to the weak;It takes strength to be compassionate.Holding on to the self is not wisdom;It takes faith to let go.Doubts and fear are greed for benefit;It takes giving to be happy."
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