Antidote to Scarcity

When one is on a pilgrimage, there is uncertainty. In such a state, the mind looks for certainty and serves as the gatekeeper, raising red flags. On the other hand, those who have walked this path before tell us to just have faith, and we won't sleep hungry or without a roof.

One of the rules for a traditional pilgrimage is "ask nothing and refuse nothing," which reminds us of Brother David. This means one has to have faith in humanity and trust. Stepping into this way of being takes time, which results in hoarding. Hoarding onto food, extra bedding for cold, the usual route, and many other mind patterns. When we walk with all of this, we start to feel comfortable and secure in the first few days. Slowly, you start to feel the weight of all that, all that I kept storing for tomorrow.

In the first week, my mind went through so many mental calculations that I started feeling more tired of it than walking. There would be times when I wouldn't have shared my food. Finally,  we decided to just give it away. We started sharing it with children who came running to us, greeting Narmade Har. The smile they shared fuelled us, and gradually the weight in my mind and my bag started to lift. It is in the giving that we receive,e as Nipun bhai says.

The design of the universe is crazy. As we started giving, we started receiving. We would give in this village, and people would give us in the next village. When we walk past their homes, they invite us for tea. When we walk from their farms, they offer us groundnuts and sugarcane fresh from the harvest. The oldies who are sitting out in the sun bless us. When we reach anywhere at lunchtime, they offer us from their share. In the evening, when we reach a village, a bunch of them arrange for a safe place for us to sleep. Some offer us money to buy food,d and the offerings are endless.

Everywhere around us, we see abundant nature. Tall tregiving shade. Birds singing songs. Cranes on the river banks are taking their gentle flights. Small puppies are licking my toes. Dew drops shine like pearls as the early morning sun rays touch them. Squirrels running ahead of us. Butterflies are spreading their color across the green field. Bells of the evening prayer. Night lamps far away in a home help me connect with someone I don't know.

 

It's interesting how each day I walk to this new village, I sleep under a new roof, eat with new people, as things start to get a little comfortable, and it's time to move on:)

And as we walked, we were singing: "We have enough, we are grateful, share the blessings, bodhi-swaha, remembering Rev. Heng Sure."

This design has taught me to trust. There is a higher plan within a person