Thank you India

 

I didn't realise so many people could fit 

In such a small place

Apparently it's even crazier in the North

It blows my mind 

But I'll believe it

 

Markets full of incense and flowers

And rainbow dyes to praise deities

Sweets made of sugar cane

 

Slaughtered chickens 

Being packed 

On the back of a tiny scooter

Being followed around by locals

Desperate to to sell me jewellery

 

Cows on the side of the road

Considered sacred 

But with no grass to eat

 

Rubbish everywhere

A man with no legs

Begging for money

An absence of clean water to drink

 

Most people here

Are poor

And struggle to get by each day

Yet are always excited to meet foreigners 

With fair skin 

And green eyes

 

A young couple 

Ask to have a photo with me

In fact

Everyone wants a photo with me!

I later learned 

That the presence of a white person

Is said to be a sign of good luck

 

I am a long way from home…

 

I come back from the market 

To a place

Where I will plant myself for weeks

A little sanctuary on the side of the road

Away from the busyness of the city

In a yoga centre

It's quiet here

And it’s sacred

 

An escape from the expectations of Western life

Of careers

Money

Finding a partner

Buying a house

Having kids

‘Succeeding and achieving’

(In the eyes of society )

 

Here

The focus is to understand 

Who we are as humans

When we are stripped back

From our egos

We appreciate 

That we are really all the same

It’s a little confronting

While also incredibly freeing

 

Connecting 

The mind 

Body 

And soul

Breathing through yoga poses

So intense  

That you tremble

And sweat profusely

Wondering if you will 

Fall 

In a heap

At any moment

 

Daily prayer 

And spiritual teachings

Making time for quiet

Which is

Liberating 

Frustrating

And terrifying

All at once 

 

I find myself crying

At times

It’s a release

That in the months leading up to this trip

I never had time for

Or never let myself

Have time for

 

Oh how we live our lives as busy bees 

To continually avoid silence

The noise comes from around us

But we we also create it ourselves

 

I come back to the country 

That I call home

Australia

Where we have opportunity

 Freedom

Wealth

And clean water and air

So fortunate to be here

 

And of course

With arriving home

The business and expectations 

Come back 

As quickly as they went

 

 I make a commitment to myself 

To not abandon what I've learned

 I invite the quiet daily

Through meditation

 And make time

To be slow

Even if it’s uncomfortable

 

Because its is only in silence

That we work out what important 

Versus what we are taught as people

And in our perpetuating thoughts

To to believe is important

 

As our Krishna teacher in Mysore said

‘Through silence

We can find the truth’

 

Thank you India