i am running along the side of the road, barefoot, into the setting sun. it has gone 17:10. i am barefoot because i left the flip flops in the bicycle basket. the smooth tarmac is warm to my skin which goes slap slap slap on the road. sometimes i move over to the sandy verge when a big car comes up behind me going beep beep!
i am running because my bike was stolen earlier on today. a busy street in pondicherry. a thirty second lapse of attention in an ATM machine.
there are people who steal things.
i am running because community leaders at sadhana say it is unsafe to be out after dark, especially alone, so i am running to beat the clock. i want to gain the sandy forest track before the sun has sunk too far beyond the horizon, taking it's light. i met with couchsurfer emmanuel and when i told him about sadhana forest he was very interested in getting to know. i said "well i am walking back there anyway" so he said "let's go!" but in the end we got distracted by drinking iced mint tea in a roadside cafe and when it became apparent that the darkness was coming and there was still something like 10 kilometres to go, emmanuel walked back and i ran on. emmanuel's couchsurfing profile states that he is 109 years old, so when in conversation he reveals that he is 24 years old, i say "i thought you were 109..." he smiles and says "yes...i wrote that to show how unimportant age is....all ages are the same. how can i say i am twenty-four when i have already lived so many lives?" i am running, the sun is setting then a man pulls in front of me with his moped and invites me to take a seat. his only words comprehended by me are "only tamil", said with a smile. after a while i give him a gesture which says i can walk but he insists on taking me beyond his turning for a further five kilometres, along the sandy track to sadhana forest, and leaves me there and repeats his smile and says "only help"
there are people who go spontaneously out of their way to help. there are people who steal things but you cannot say "do not trust anybody" or else you would miss the kind people.
aviram, the rotund, bearded, gentle-eyed israeli who founded sadhana forest nine years ago, hears how the bicycle got stolen and asks me not to feel obliged to buy a new one and when i tell him that i would like to replace it anyway, he gives me a look full of kindness and says "thank you for your integrity". it feels good when he says that. i like aviram a lot. he reminds me somewhat of l'homme qui plantait des arbres, only instead of planting trees in solitude, aviram invites a great transient traveller community to surround and make possible the project. the US volunteers made a big meal for thanksgiving and while eating we went round in a circle and everyone said something they were thankful for. it lasted the whole scrumptious dinner. i said something short, i said "i would like to thank aviram and his family for creating this space to allow us all to come together, and i thank God for all of our hearts which beat so well" many others became very eloquent and gave off great reels of thanks, often starting with "i wanna thank my mom for giving me life...". at every meal, when everyone has been served, the person who is nearest the bells says "can we have a moment of silence please?" and everyone responds "yes!" then the chimey disks are made to give a high resounding chime and after a while, after a while, after a while, when they chime again, everyone chants out "thank you!" and aleric's midlands falsetto can always be heard chiming "thanks Universe!"
i am running because my bike was stolen earlier on today. a busy street in pondicherry. a thirty second lapse of attention in an ATM machine.
there are people who steal things.
i am running because community leaders at sadhana say it is unsafe to be out after dark, especially alone, so i am running to beat the clock. i want to gain the sandy forest track before the sun has sunk too far beyond the horizon, taking it's light. i met with couchsurfer emmanuel and when i told him about sadhana forest he was very interested in getting to know. i said "well i am walking back there anyway" so he said "let's go!" but in the end we got distracted by drinking iced mint tea in a roadside cafe and when it became apparent that the darkness was coming and there was still something like 10 kilometres to go, emmanuel walked back and i ran on. emmanuel's couchsurfing profile states that he is 109 years old, so when in conversation he reveals that he is 24 years old, i say "i thought you were 109..." he smiles and says "yes...i wrote that to show how unimportant age is....all ages are the same. how can i say i am twenty-four when i have already lived so many lives?" i am running, the sun is setting then a man pulls in front of me with his moped and invites me to take a seat. his only words comprehended by me are "only tamil", said with a smile. after a while i give him a gesture which says i can walk but he insists on taking me beyond his turning for a further five kilometres, along the sandy track to sadhana forest, and leaves me there and repeats his smile and says "only help"
there are people who go spontaneously out of their way to help. there are people who steal things but you cannot say "do not trust anybody" or else you would miss the kind people.
aviram, the rotund, bearded, gentle-eyed israeli who founded sadhana forest nine years ago, hears how the bicycle got stolen and asks me not to feel obliged to buy a new one and when i tell him that i would like to replace it anyway, he gives me a look full of kindness and says "thank you for your integrity". it feels good when he says that. i like aviram a lot. he reminds me somewhat of l'homme qui plantait des arbres, only instead of planting trees in solitude, aviram invites a great transient traveller community to surround and make possible the project. the US volunteers made a big meal for thanksgiving and while eating we went round in a circle and everyone said something they were thankful for. it lasted the whole scrumptious dinner. i said something short, i said "i would like to thank aviram and his family for creating this space to allow us all to come together, and i thank God for all of our hearts which beat so well" many others became very eloquent and gave off great reels of thanks, often starting with "i wanna thank my mom for giving me life...". at every meal, when everyone has been served, the person who is nearest the bells says "can we have a moment of silence please?" and everyone responds "yes!" then the chimey disks are made to give a high resounding chime and after a while, after a while, after a while, when they chime again, everyone chants out "thank you!" and aleric's midlands falsetto can always be heard chiming "thanks Universe!"
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