Petrichor

Woke up to snow this morning. :) First snow of the season. Made all of us smile, specially S. S wanted to dress up warm & go out to play in the snow to make snow balls, but it melted away by then. Then it became sunny. On the way to pick up S from school, from nowhere I saw a weird shape of a cloud. I was really wondering what would this cloud bring. In less than a minute, HAIL...where I was. but 1 km away the sun was shining bright. I love this lovable city. The top reason for the love is the city's unpredictable weather. Can't really say Winter is here. Can't say it is not here as well. Weird. But every bit beautiful. :)

One of those flashy thought days!!! Today: Deepavali. When did I grow up? When did I learn to cook? When did I know how to take care of a kid? When did I outgrow being around my mother? When did I stop wanting to be taken care of like a kid? Seems like yesterday, Amma was braiding my hair. Today, I am combing S's hair to grab a pony. Seems like yesterday, I was holding Amma's hands wherever I went. Today, I am running behind S to hold my hand. :) Seems like yesterday I heard Appa say, "Wow! You make us feel like we have 4 people in this house". Today, I enjoy the quietness when S goes to sleep. Seems like yesterday, Amma would kiss me through the night as I would not allow her to do it in public. Today, S smiles & kisses me when she wakes up. Seems like yesterday, I would compel Amma to watch a movie with me. (she would not wish it, but still watch it with me). Today, S forces me to do the same. I feel like Amma. But still do it sometimes. Definitely yesterday, wh...

It interests me to realize how much I can settle down. Being so high in latitude, 4000 ft abv sea level and so close to the Rockies...yet I expected somewhere for the Summer to last(not forever, at least a little longer). Well! at least Fall. The weather over the last few days have been so alarmingly different through the day. Two days ago when G mentioned that the low was -4C, I was like, "WHAT???" Seems like I was in la-la land all along. Seriously, when did Fall fall away? Six months of grrr weather ahead. It gives me the chill just thinking of it. I honestly forgot how cold it gets. How cold does it feel!!! No Calgarian is (probably) prepared or ready to welcome it. But it comes. When it has to. :) Today was a different day(like every single day). As I was driving S to her school, I saw the weather change. It wasn't subtle anymore. I smiled. It was beautiful. How nature has its ways of waking me to reality? I am in no way prepared to think of the next few months. But ...

I have not been hibernating. Trust me. On the contrary so much has been happening in life, my life, our life that I am at loss of what to write about. Should I write about incredible Canada, where every corner I look shows me a family from a country so far away? Should I write about our travels, our recent road trip to Alaska which has changed me unlike any other road trip? Should I write about Munira , S's pre-school teacher, who goes to India to volunteer with organizations & sets up montessori schools there? Should I write about how S is teaching me every single day to be a mother? Should I write about how grateful I've been feeling about my parents lately for they allowed me to be ... just me? Should I write about the joy I have when I see my school? How so many emotions are tied up with that second home? I could pour my heart out & still barely scratch the surface. I feel blessed. To have all these people in my life, I currently have.

I have been watching myself lately. I am so much happier. So much more joyful. I feel life within. I breathe. I smell. I enjoy. I respond. All the simple things in life matter so much more to me now than ever. I feel like a child in many ways. I enjoy music. I enjoy the sun...seriously, that is a big deal for me. I enjoy the storms. I enjoy good company. I enjoy being alone. In so many ways, I feel fulfilled. I do not worry about a tomorrow, though I plan for it. I am able to do so many things with abandon. As if I don't care. Truth is I care too much. About what I do. Not about the outcome. It is freedom in many ways. Some people may call it liberation. But it seems too big a word, right now. Freedom is fine. Happiness seems just right. :) Having S around definitely adds to the beauty, as she is so full of life too. I seem to be attracting intense & joyful people too :) I am grateful. For what I am today. Thanks to Isha.

I really do not want to make a statement or judgement. But something happened today & I realized that generalizing this could be ok...of course with exceptions, as usual. Older people have seen more. They have lived more. So, they should be happier...right? Well, I have mostly seen it to be au contraire. Today, me & S were at the Garden. We have an organic plot, where we grow organic vegetables. Actually, we have just started. So, I was respectfully sowing all my seeds. There is no way S would just sit & SEE me do it for 45 minutes. She had better things to do; Like digging the mud, getting all dirty, watering plants, blowing a dandelion. You know, STUFF. And I let her do it. As if I have options, huh? But I ask her to let me know where she goes(within the garden of course) & I check on her every couple of minutes. Knowingly, she would also raise her head every few minutes to meet my eyes. On one such eye contact, I saw her lifting a big stone & putting it somewhere...

with a BANG. I am completely blown over. And the party of life has begun! The intensity of just 3 days was way more than the total intensity of my entire life. The whole world seems like a whole new place. And I feel so privileged to be a part of this. Every person I see seems to be a part of me & I feel like I am a part of every single thing around me. It feels strangely wonderful. When it comes to Isha, I am always at a loss for words because what I experience is way beyond than words can express. The ashram, Mahima, the residents, the volunteers, the food, the work - everything is powerfully humbling. Every moment of everyday, whatever happens there & the impact of what is happening there is just too much to even comprehend. The volunteers, how many ever times I look at them, just the way they are, the way they served us food, the very willingness of how much they want to be a part of making this happen to participants like me is overwhelming. BSP was different. Very differ...

I am blessed to have the opportunity to meet some wonderful people everyday. When I take S to classes. Those people don't work. The work they do cannot be done if they have no passion in what they do. So, I often have inspiring talks with some of them to hear their experiences from over the years. Each of them have been dealing with children all their lives. Their stories are...dramatically inspiring, to say the least. One was a case worker in the North-really North, where the temperature dips to -40C when the Sun never shows up(& those are many days). It was disheartening to know they would need a Children case worker in such areas. The enlightening information I received through him was that the natives, unlike I expected, are abused by drugs. They load themselves with alcohol heavily & constantly force their children(some as young as 3 years) to drink as well. Why? was my first question. The answer was disgusting to say the least. Apparently, the government pays them to ...

Point Reyes. Pacific coast. The famous 101. Golden Gate. San Francisco skyline. The sequence of what I saw as I landed into this country. Familiarity. Smile. I know places like the back of my head and it sure felt like home. Home for 7 wonderful years. Even in my wildest dreams I did not think I would find myself in SFO and someone would pick me up. It seemed surreal. Too good even for a story. I am probably creating drama, but this city brought back memories. Sadhguru's Shambhavi Program & Yantra consecrations! I did not think what I'd receive being here. I just came. I could not be anywhere else. And what I have received is more than I even realize right now. Just being in such a space, doing what I could do, in the most efficient way possible that there is no me anymore. That is the best part of being a Volunteer. Each of us do everything possible to make this happen for others, WILLINGLY. There is really no difference between me & others. We all become one with one ...

S turns 3 today. She is absolutely bubbly & loving now & is pretty excited about cutting a cake. She can speak & understand Tamil & English & can effectively push me away from a store that does not interest her. She needs a cuddle to go to sleep & is capable of making me listen to her. :) She has been my best gift so far & I truly bow down to her for being so patient with me. I am logging as much as I can about her & her growth, the first 3 years of her life. Not because I want to show her how much she has grown or how much she has learnt from me. But because she has taught me soooooo much. I am grateful to her for every lesson of love, affection, forgiveness, sadness, happiness, adventure, challenge & most of all patience. It has been quite a ride. And she guided me through each one of them. Some people have already started forcing me to think about a sibling for S. But fortunately, I had thought about it much earlier. The happiness I get from her i...

One more place I associate good memories with. It has been -20C & below for the last 2 weeks. Some snow & a lot of Ice. White everywhere. I feel cold. Intense cold. Ideally, I should be depressed. Most residents are. But, I am not. I am grateful to witness the white beauty...and the silence that comes with it. I am grateful for the heater ...I would not be alive otherwise. Truly! :) I am grateful for the joy that comes to me when I go out in the cold weather...of course, dressed appropriately. I am not complaining, but my cold tolerance is better than that to heat. Don't ask me how I survived Chennai heat for so many years. It was definitely not this hot then...thanks to global warming. The cold is teaching me so many things. It makes me observe negligible things. I feel deeply grateful for the winter. That said, I am eagerly waiting for the Spring. :)

I am not an avid shopper. Okay, I am becoming one...sometimes. So, I had to go to the mall to buy something specific. But got drifted towards Old Navy. S stepped in & had one look at the insides. She immediately knew that it was not a toy store or a candy store or a play area. One look at me & she says, "Amma chalooo"(pointing hand in the exact opposite direction of the store) making a body language used by farmers to move the bulls. As in Go, go, go. She stops it only if I make the move in the said direction. Heights of embarrassment when performed in a crowded mall. This is not the first time, but I am still dumbstruck. Needless to mention G is a happy father, extremely proud of his daughter. Ugh, family!!!

I feel - moved . To have a husband who surprised me with a birthday cake(even after repeatedly saying "I don't want anything") & a daughter who discovered it in the fridge. - blessed . To live in the same lifetime as someone like Sadhguru. - happy . To have life in this body. - fulfilled . To not want many things I once wanted. - privileged . To have people who love me, in spite of all my limitations. - complete . To have a brother I never had & a little mad girl who means the world. A truly blessed life. Whom do I thank? What words can convey how I feel? When will I stop wanting to express things that cannot be expressed?

There are situations(or even people) that I'd be gladly away from. I am not a loner, but would like to stay away from people who are trouble or who may cause my inner balance to sway. I don't like to get into politics or be a subject of discussion. But, in the last few days I realized. These people or situations are not a bad thing. They are not my enemies. They are necessary so I get out of a few things I need to get out of. All this while, these people or situations caused turmoil to tremor(situation depending) ONLY because I allowed them to do so. It was I that gave them the importance they now have. When I saw this, it brought new strength within. My fear seems to have vanished. I no longer want to avoid situations. There is something to learn & overcome round every corner. I know I knew this all along. What was the difference? Well, it is the difference between knowing something & experiencing it. It is the difference between the mind & the self. Thanks to the ...

I went for a walk today. Temperature reading -13C something. But the wind was howling horrendously. I wanted to feel the wind on my face. But G gladly gave my balaclava to save my face. As I walked out, a neighbor greeted. Seeing me all geared up, he said, "I don't think you are going out now. It is -29C". The windchill, he meant. I smiled & walked down. The minute I walked out into the cold, I realized, "-29C! What was I thinking???" I just had one layer of Jeans. The magic # is 15 or -15 to be specific. If the temperature reads below the magic#, I should be using 2 layers. Even more, snow pants. Alas! Too late. I could not feel my thighs in a little bit & the wind was bellowing from behind. I did not think of my way back just yet. I decided to walk as much as I could. It felt so good. Just being in that pinching cold. I was decently dressed. Winter boots, jeans, a down jacket over a t-shirt, gloves, balaclava & my parka's hood. I was considerab...

From 2004, I've had memorable New Year Eve's. In the sense, I was witnessing something different. Let me see if my memory serves me right. 2004 - My first New Year in the US. Watched the fireworks in San Francisco. My first visit to this beautiful city too. :) 2005 - Hiked to see the Elephant seals in Ano Nuevo SP, Ca. High fever. But did not want to miss it at any cost. 2006 - Heard the fireworks from our tent. Camped in Anza Borrego State Park , Ca. 2007 - SF fireworks from Angel Island . We backpacked & camped in cold 37F. 2008 - Quiet time in Palm Springs , Ca. 2009 - A quiet night after returning from a trip to San Diego. 2010 - SF fireworks from Treasure Island sans all the crowd. 2011 will be different. Very different from what I had in mind as different earlier. I find myself in extreme gratefulness. Extreme joy & love. For nothing in particular. I feel thankful to witness another New Year. So, I AM in a different place this year too. Just a different dimension,...

So. I managed to read Robert Fischer's "Gandhi". For some reason, I did not want to read his autobiography(again). I wanted to read about him as a second person. And since this book was the inspiration for the movie " Gandhi ", I was able to relate to it better. The whole book went all "Mahatma" about him. There were words that touched the heart. "He did not want the British to have no strength to fight Indians; He wanted them to not have the heart to do so." It may seem immaterial, but what touched me most about the Mahatma was that he was not born like one. He was a normal atman with all the crap like we all have. In his younger years, he had told lies, got immensely furious on many things. But he rose over all of it. His vision made him do so. What touched me even more was that he contradicted himself on many occasions. He never settled with one thing. He was constantly learning to do what is best for a given situation at that particular t...

I have had a very different notion of what an Ashram is, all along. Or I am not sure. Did I care about to even think of one? If at all I did, I would have thought that an ashram is a dull & boring place where everyone thinks & speaks of God. No one tells lies. Everyone would(should)be morally Mr.correct. Again, I did not think women lived in an ashram. An ashram would be a painfully demanding place where you are inflicted with misery. It would be secluded from the outside world. With all these assumptions in mind, no doubt, I would conclude that an ashram is the last place you want to end up at. Ugh! I had the privilege of "living" in an ashram recently. A couple days only. Still. All I could think of it right now is, those few days were THE most happiest days of my life so far. And that is saying something. I will consider myself as one of the fortunate ones whose life has been blessed with many a child-like happy moments. I will not consider myself as a religious pe...

Coming from a not-so-traditional-but-yet-conventional Brahmin family, Sanskrit always intrigued me. Though I did not learn it, I've learnt quite a bit of Sanskrit words in the name of slokas as a kid. But nothing really meant any sense to me & I definitely did not know the value of it. Now, after all these years, I have received something from a very sacred place taught in a very traditional manner. Two days of just uttering those words with others, gives me the shivers even now. This is what a Gurukulam would have been like. When there was nothing to write down. You just listen & sing(about a hundred times) until your whole being gets it. I heard the Guru pooja for the first time at my Inner Engineering . It felt like something but I managed not to give it too much thought. There was already too much going on in the class. But every single time I've had the opportunity since then, I would find tears flood my eyes. The pooja itself, the words, the way it is done, will b...

Calgary and most of the West is under a Winter Spell. It has been -20C for the last 1 week. Not so much snow, but the cold really gets to the bones unless you are dressed appropriately. It feels like Christmas already. All the evergreens are adorned with brilliant white snow. Just beautiful! S says it is cold. She says, "winter is here". But no complains so far. I feel so gratified, though she is probably too young to complain. She loves to go out however be the weather outside. The temperature read positive today(just on the border) & it feels so warm. Relatively. I am amazed how I underestimate my tolerance limit. From "how are people surviving in that cold" to "It's not too bad", I feel like laughing at my own deceptive mind. So, there is my first winter snowstorm & I survived gracefully. Will wait for the chinooks now. :) I have been smiling at the snow for reasons unlimited. I am known to complain about the heat & now I learnt my less...