Set Your Intention - So Fitting for my Final Thought

Follow the Sun

Follow, follow the sun
And which way the wind blows
When this day is done.
Breathe, breathe in the air.
Set your intentions.
Dream with care.
Tomorrow is a new day for everyone,
Brand new moon, brand new sun.
So follow, follow the sun,
The direction of the bird,
The direction of love.
Breathe, breathe in the air,
Cherish this moment,
Cherish this breath.
When you feel life coming down on you,
Like a heavy weight.
When you feel this crazy society,
Adding to the strain.
Take a stroll to the nearest waters edge
Remember your place.
Many moons have risen and fallen long, long
Before you came.
So which way is the wind blowin',
And what does your heart say?
So follow, follow the sun,
And which way the wind blows
When this day is done... Xavier Rudd

I heard this song on my flight home and it inspired the words of my final blog and was very reminiscent of everything I felt on my final beach walk as I stared out to the ocean, with its powerful waves and high tide.

How do these words impact you, your day, your reality on this present moment?

I feel these are very introspective and impactful lyrics.  They can change a day, a moment, a perspective.

I hope you all enjoyed my journey throughout this last month.  It was an incredible experience; one that's impacted me greatly and has inspired growth in so many elements of my soul.  Thank you for sharing my journey.  I will let you know when you can come back and revisit with all the photos to document the moments.

Namaste

J

Day 30 - Lokah Samastah Sukkino Bhavantu

"Lokah Samastah Sukkino Bhavantu - May all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom of all" - the Yoga Sutras

What I know today

Sometimes life has a way ... The People of India Have Surely ...

... Had a way of restoring my faith in humanity on this journey.

In all my travels I have not met souls with as much humility as I found in Goa.  I know that India has much broader scopes than that which I discovered in Goa.  But the people of Goa have found a deep embedded space forever in my heart.

Some simple things and random acts of kindness ... Perhaps to produce good karma in their lives for their future lives, perhaps because the simple and pure nature of their world leaves a mark of true peace in their hearts.

Walking through small villages people would just smile and be so happy to have your graces pass them by, they would be so happy to have their photo taken if only to have their presence be recorded in history somehow or perhaps the simple joy it brought to them see themselves smiling in digital space.  Never has my request to snap a photo while travelling in another country been met with such joy and without want for something in return.  Taking photos of the people of Goa gave me such pleasure simply in seeing the joy on their faces, or the giggles of children when showing them the photo you just took.  Often I would be asked, "Take my photo?", or I would ask them permission, and after I would snap my camera, what I got was the cultural Indian head bobble and "thank you madam" or a request from a father or mother to the children to say thank you.  My heart swells at the memory.

Beatrix and I hired a scooter taxi driver to take us to Chaudy and then to Patnem beach from Palolem and he waited while we did what we needed and when he dropped us back, offering to meet us the next day at 10 am to return to Chaudy, he refused payment.  I assumed it was because I would just pay him in full the next day.  There he was the next day at 10 am waiting to drive Lindsay and I to Chaudy.  Again he waited for us and again he refused payment even after we took rupees out to hand to him.  Just pure goodness.

On my final day in India as my flight landed in Mumbai I asked the man beside me if he could tell me what a fair rate in rupees would be to hire an auto (Mumbai style Rickshaw that had space for all my luggage) to take me to my hotel which was a short distance away.  He told me that I would likely not find a driver willing to take me as they all wanted long journeys for more money.  He said if I didn't have much luggage I could just walk across the street.  But that would not be possible in my case.  So he offered that he could have his cab drop me at my hotel.  He asked about my purpose in India, was it my first trip there, how I came to yoga, genuinely interested in my story.  When I told him I was a respiratory therapist he told me his wife was a doctor and that she had done studies on the effects of yoga on people with respiratory illnesses or diseases.  I thought it was meant to be.  He gave me some helpful tips for a future return to India, bid me safe travels on the rest of my journey and told me India was rich for having me travel there.  I could have cried in that moment.

These are only a few of the memoirs of people I experienced in India that touched my soul.

On the cab ride to Goa airport I was listening to my yoga playlist which is comprised of Indian music I would consider playing in my own yoga classes one day, songs that relax me and ease me into states of calmness when I need them most, and many of the songs I've realized after my time with Upendra and our mantra classes why some of the mantras we learned seemed so familiar ... It's because I've been listening to these same mantras all along.  I was meant to come to this country.

India holds a special place in my heart and having just departed on my way home to the people who mean more to me than words can ever describe, it already calls very strongly to return very soon.  I know this will not be my every experience upon my return and that Goa was a unique, quiet place filled with local Indian people living simple lives rich with tourism.  I've seen only a glimpse of the chaos that exists in other places but nonetheless I want more than anything to experience all this country has to offer, but will not be returning without my soulmate, John D.

My heart is full.

Namaste

J