A quote from a character in Shantaram, a book i'm re-reading after being in India(great book!), says this.....
"a persons happiness is inversely proportional to the size of their house".
A simpler life I think is the best way to go. I'm sure alot of people who have a big house and lots of things will try to disagree but I think its something to think about.
I have been thinking alot about simplifying my life as im thinking about coming back home and having lived out of a pretty small backpack with a small amount of material belongings for the past 4 months, its pretty possible to live with alot less than we think is "necessary". So just think about it, what are the things that we think are essential to our life and our happiness..... keep those things around, and let go of others, things/people who are occupying our time and space.
Ive recently come across a great website that seems to be something that I was looking for without really looking. Its called mnmlist.com. You should check it out.
‘There is no path to peace. Peace is the path.’ ~ Mahatma Gandhi, “Non-Violence in Peace and War”
Simplicity, many people think,
is an end in itself
But they’re getting it backwards
Simplicity is the path, the means
It’s not a far off destination,
somewhere in the future
It’s right here, right now
It’s taking things one at a time
It’s asking simple questions
It’s taking simple actions
It’s doing it slowly
It’s considering and being conscious,
with everything
When you find yourself becoming overwhelmed
on the path to simplicity
Taking a complicated, frenzied path
to get there
Stop, consider, and choose
the simpler path
And take it slowly
And easily
And lovely
Its amazing and wonderful all of the memories and thoughts that you have when you are traveling, but it is so hard at the same time because the people who weren't there with you in those moments will never even begin to know what you went through. I am so thankful to have had Megan to share all of these experiences with and to be able to say how are you feeling about this or what do you think about that.... As im reflecting back on my time spent in India its so hard to even begin to wrap my mind around what happened and what I/we learned during our experience there. When people ask how was India is so hard to say because if I say that it was wonderful and horrible at the same time noone gets it. But when we were there and living our days there were multiple times a day that we would say either I hate India so much or I love India so much. It is a place of so many drastic contrasts the people we meet would be so generous and giving and wanted to share with us and we also met some horrible people and they just wanted to cheat us and were so mean. for all of the beauty and the women in their colorful saris and bangles and wonderful things there is so much of the opposite, dirty and garbage everywhere all over the streets. for all of the faith that people have and the amazing rituals and way they live their life and pray and believe so much and yet the government and the systems are so corrupt. how does it work?? for all of the wisdom and knowledge and ancient beliefs there are so many people who are uneducated. its so sad. i think that is why people love it so much though, for some reason. it is so challenging and every day there is something new that comes up or something that you see that makes you think and tests you. there were moments when we would just be walking down the street and i would almost burst into tears because i would be so sad seeing all of these people in horrible shape, women whos backs are so hunched over because of who knows what, people with deformed limbs who are scooting along on a skateboard or babies that look so hungry and i would just get so sad but than i would have to say to myself, brooke just pull yourself together, these people are so sad but they are not crying even though they may want to, they are just living and doing what they need to do. so if you start crying it isint going to do anything or change anything. but it would be so hard to see so many people living on the street and than talking to people and seeing how hard it is to get out of the slums or out of poverty and to get ahead a little bit. our friend that we met in mumbai, rahul who sold maps, we had tea with him a few times and we were just talking to him and trying to think of business ideas and he was just explaining to us how hard it is because he cant even get a job at a resturant because he was never able to go to school because of his parents and so he dosent even know how to write or read and so he cant take orders at the resturant. so it seems like even the simplest jobs he cant do because he has no education. he was telling us he wants to become a shoe repair man but he needs to learn and get the supplys/tools but it was impossible because he cant pay because he has no money. he lives in a slum outside of mumbai and takes the train in to sell the maps. later when we were talking we pieced together that he was a male prostitute and there would be these rich foreigners, men, who he would take around and tour around the city and that they would invite him back to their rooms and they would pay him. so we found out later that is how he makes his money and is able to live. its so sad!
i think that many people go to india to learn yoga or meditation or the ancient knowledge but what ive learned is that what you think you may be looking for might not be what you need at that time and what you need is what you find along the way, on your way to the "goal". i thought that i was ready to do a yoga training course and that was why i was going to india but maybe it just wasent time for me and that what i learned along the way and through the challenges and everything that we went through was a better teacher than any i would have at an ashram or something like that. i learned so much about patience and just keeping a positive outlook and that your attitude and openness towards life will determine what your life is like.
ever since i went to kalani last year i have been practicing being in the moment and i think that traveling makes you be more present than ever because every moment there is something new and a new problem or something to deal with and so there is no time to think about the past or the future because the moment you are in is so important and you need to be fully there. i think ive also learned to listen to my heart and follow what i feel is right rather than what i think is the right thing to do. this goes from just daily things to big decisions also.
i didnt have a return ticket to seattle, so instead i found myself buying a ticket to south africa to come and see someone that i met when i was in thailand. we only knew each other for a few days but it just felt like we needed to see each other again. instead of thinking this was a crazy idea and that it was bad i just decided to follow my heart and just go there and figure out the next step after that. i dont ever want to be someone who thinks later in life, i wonder if i would have gone to south africa, what would my life have been like? dont ever let yourself have those what if's...... its a beautiful thing and im happy to be here.
at the kumbh mela festival in haridwar we spent like 3 hours sitting with the babas (the holy men) and they made us tea and we just talked and stared at each other alot. they live off of donations from the people and do blessings and go to all of the festivals and travel around, its the life. they also showed us this special passport that they have where they can go anywhere in the world. crazy. most of them had crazy dreadlocks and they LOVED megans, they called her lady baba the whole time. it was so cute. one of the guys took his down and they were all the way to his feet!!! he has only cut his hair 4 times in his life. so crazy!!! it was quite the experience.
also i wanted to talk a little bit about the roads here......try to imagine all of this going on while you are driving down the street, keep in mind that passing and driving in the other lane is totally acceptable for long periods of time, so basically it feels like everyone is headed for a head on collision and just swerving out of the way all the time. meanwhile there are many other factors: trucks with loads tied to them that are 2 times the size of the truck itself, many cows goats dogs and other animals, people crossing, motorcycles with whole families of 4 or 5 on them, auto-rickshaws with 30 people overflowing out of them, horse drawn carriages, tractors, carts pulled by water buffalo with loads of various things such as a huge pile of bricks, oh also there are tons of people on bicycles that look like they were build in the 1800's. oh yeah and i forgot that many of the trucks and cars breakdown (can you imagine?) in the middle of the road and so you would be going really fast and than have to stop all of a sudden because of a truck blocking the entire road. makes for interesting travel i guess :)
another interesting thing thats been going on in my life......i have not been feeling well the past 4/5 days and we've been staying at the ashram. thankfully our yoga guru also happens to be a natural healing master and so to cure my diarrhea he told me to lay down on this bench outside and he pressed on my stomach to feel my pulse in there, he said that i had a dislocation of some part of my stomach. so he pulled on my right leg 3 times, than massaged my stomach in a circle and than felt for the pulse again, he said it was coming back to the center. than i flipped over and he assisted me in doing floor bow yoga pose and than something else and than checked again. he said its getting better and to come back in the morning at 8 with an apple. so i said ok. i went back and laid on the same bench, outside the ashram looking over the ganga. he felt the pulse and said that it was still problem. so he put this mud pie made from the ganga on my stomach and than a clay pack on my eyes. i layed there for a long time than he came and did the massage and the exercises again. crazy!!! he seems to be so knowledgeable and it makes me really interested to learn in natural medicine.....first i will test it out and see if i feel better before i start studying :)
the yoga is good here, different but it is good. our yoga guru does the craziest poses and he just smiles when we try because he knows he is so flexible and advanced. he is sweet and he just says slowly slowly it will come.
pictures coming soon, internet is crazy here!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wow, not really sure where to start. Now we are up in northern India in a town called Rishikesh. We love it here so far and we think we will stay for the last 10 days or so of our trip before we head our separate ways. We are staying at Shri Sant Sewa Ashram and it is right on the Ganges river. People are always bathing and cleansing themselves in the river and every evening there is chanting and mantras being sang over a loud speaker with drums and everything. Its pretty amazing. Its hard sometimes to appreciate what you have when you are in the moment of it, but when you step back and think about whats going on its pretty amazing.
Last time I wrote I think we were in Mumbai. It was a great city and really fun to see. Very busy and crowded though! We were getting ready to leave and we had bought our train ticket to agra to see the taj mahal. The night before we left we got hooked up with our “Indian family”, an Indian man, sid, who works in my dads office put us in touch with his family that live in Mumbai. We ended up calling them and going over for dinner to their house in a really nice neighborhood. It was so fun to see how their life is and get a real family experience. They made us eat so much and thankfully they were great cooks and the food was amazing. They also made us try all of their crazy Indian breath “fresheners” which could be anything from sweet, salty, bitter, and nasty.
The house was full, I think 8 people living there, the elders grandma and grandpa and than their 2 sons and wives and their babys. The ladys stay home all day and cook and play with the babies and the men work. All the marriages were arranged and it was so interesting to hear about that. They made it seem like we have a problem by having the choice to decide who we want to be with and dating and everything. They were like ohhhh you are 24 its time to be married…..
After dinner we spent like 3 hours in the grandmas room looking at all of her bangles, she has a whole briefcase full! She gave us a huge bag of them to take home even though we insisted we couldn’t take them. She also has a whole book full of bindis, she gave us a bunch too and we have been wearing them (and coordinating the color with our outfits like she taught us ) They loved sharing their stories and that we were so excited about everything that they were showing us. Her closet was full of a rainbow of saris, so beautiful!
Megan gave 2 of the ladies haircuts, they wanted a new style so she gave the grandma some layers and she felt so great and pretty after. I think they just always get it cut straight across and don’t learn to do anything with it. One of the ladys Aarty had really curly hair and megan taught her what to do to make it less frizzy and I think she really appreciated it. So cute!
We left their house late that night and our train was the next day around 7pm so they invited us to come back the next day for lunch and to hang out with them, we were so excited!! We had another great meal and than the grandma took us all around Mumbai. The 2 sister in laws stayed at the house with the babies because it was too hot to bring them out. The mom was soooooo excited to be out of the house, we walked all around and went to a million temples and had so much tikka powder on our faces by the end! She made us stay out like 3 more hours than we would have on our own, we were so tired from walking around and it was SO hot! She kept saying want to do this, want to go here….. she was so happy to be out of the house she stalled and did as much as possible. She made us try a ton of different street food snacks that she loved and me and megan had to choke down, they just kept coming. We liked one of them actually. J
When we went back to their house they dressed us in the saris and it was so fun to feel what it feels like, they are so beautiful!!!
Than we headed to the train to Agra, about a 25 hour train ride! Can you just imagine the Darjeeling express, that was us. We were wearing our Indian outfits and had temple powder all over the place and our bindis and bangles on. We were pretty much as true Indian as we could be J Our train car was nice, it had ac and each little area had 4 beds for for people. We each had one and we could sleep. Of course a family of 4 was sharing the other 2 beds and the baby was screaming all night, so we didn’t sleep toooo well. Its all part of the experience right. I think we were probably the only white people on the train and people really were interested in us and stared and came to look at us as much as possible.
We made it to Agra in the afternoon and were really frustrated and decided to stay at a fancy hotel, it was amazing. Good Choice.
The Taj was closed on Fridays, the day we wanted to go so we ended up spending 2 nights there. Agra is a horrible place except for the Taj. We found a taxi guy who ended up being a bad guy and tried to screw us big time. I guess that isint really anything new because everyone is trying to cheat us all the time. Its kindof cool what they do there, they have declared the taj mahal a historic monument and so they don’t have any factorys or industry in agra, only handicrafts so they can stop the pollution of the Taj. Agra seemed to be one of the most polluted cities though….maybe because it was so hot too. We spent a few hours at a rug store and saw how they were made and everything and megan ended up buying a few. They are so awesome! The guy was trying to hard to get me to buy one too. He made us lay down on the ones we liked for a few minutes in shavasana and meditate and if we got a “divine feeling” after we woke up it means we should get it. I was laying down on the one I liked and almost fell asleep and he came next to me and said goodmorning and had a cup of tea. It was really nice actually. Still not convinced to buy the rug though. J
We spent sunrise at the Taj Mahal and it was so beautiful. Not too hot or crowded yet and it was amazing!
After that we headed up north to Haridwar, an amazing pilgrimage town on the GangesRiver. We didn’t know much about it but we went there at a really auspicious time as the biggest religious gathering in the world was going on there. 50 million people come to this place for a festival called Kumbh Mela to cleanse their karma and their souls in the Ganga. There are many holy men who come at this time to bless the river also. The one being held in Haridwar was the last one of their 12 year cycle in the hindu calendar and it was a very important one. It was magical. We met a friend named Kim who we spend the whole day and night with. She has been living in India for a year teaching so she could share some knowledge with us.
We took a holy dip in the ganga!!!! Now we are cleansed of all our bad Karma and we are feeling great! We weren’t going to dunk, we were just going to put our feet in but kim dunked so we were like well I guess we have to too. So happy we did! We created quite a scene, again being the only foreigners and we had a big circle audience and people wanting to take pictures with us in the ganga.
The festival was so magical! It starts in the evening time and everyone does a light ceremony with a candle floating down the river, we all did one together and sent it away, mother ganga takes your prayers and brings them to life. It was so cool!!!! The temples and everything are decorated with lights and it is the most amazing thing I think ive ever seen.
Enjoy the photos! It is a nightmare to upload things in India so there are only a few
Bangles, temples, bindis, saris, beggers, gawkers, lovers and haters.. India so far..
An entire day spent with our indian mother, whos name we never knew. We left the comfort of our indian home and into the fancy streets of bombay. Our mom stays home all day with her two daughter-in-laws cooking and playing with the children, she took us on a tour of her side of Bombay. We spent the ENTIRE day going to temples and eating tons of food. Best quality day for her and for us too!! Tired and branded with tikka powder, bangles, bindis and henna we did a quick sari wrapping/photo shoot and set off for the Punjab Mail Train to Agra. Experience on a 30hr train ride; staring men, constant crying babies, staring men, worst food, staring men, and sleep. Not any different from the rest of India other than the crying babies and worst food.. Agra begins...
