Greetings from Goa

Where...

Shores span for miles

We found Ships inside of bottles

Sunsets are watched instead of Movies

One swims in Seas of Water & Cloth

There is traffic in the Sea

Two wheels are greater than four

Starfish are found and Wishes abound

Horses are no where to be found

One floats in the Sky

Worries disappear with a blink of the eye...

We visited Rajasthan during Diwali or the Festival of Lights, a holiday celebrating the hindu God, Laxmi.  

Candles illuminated the streets while exotic flowers embellished the necklaces hanging on temples young and old.

Fireflies weren’t missed when colorful fireworks bloomed in India’s navy night sky.

Though the fireworks withered, smoke and liveliness lingered in the air. 

The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz, and the Sky with no clouds.  The heat was hot and the ground was dry, but the air was full of sound.  

“We are visitors on this planet.

We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most.

During that period, we must try to do something good, something useful, with our lives.

If you contribute to other people’s happiness, you will find the true gold, the true meaning of life”

The 14th Dalai Lama

Dharamshala is a spiritual city carved into the coniferous jungle of the Dhauladhar mountains.

Its steep rutted roads,  and treehouse temples echo with the humming chants of Buddhist monks.  

Dharamshala is also home to the Dalai Lama, a man whose principles of charity, service and the daily yet eternally important strife towards good parallel my own principles.  

Swimming in a Sea of Tea Leaves

Rock Temple

The Kangra Fort 

 A Fort with a View

A Temple in the Trees

 Floating Prayers

My India is a spinning wheel, with each spoke a tale to be told!

  Maitri helps restore dignity and hope to destitute widows.

We arrived at Maitri’s ashram in the holy city of Vrindavan and were welcomed by rows of widows sitting cross legged, waiting for a meal. 

Immediately after taking off our shoes, we were given buckets of food and ladled a nutritious mid-day meal onto each of the widows plates.

Though the language barrier prevented us from talking, it seemed our smiles and interest in these destitute widows brought a sparkle to their eyes. 

My India has taught me that the joys of serving one another eclipse the joys of receiving.

"Now this is the Law of the Jungle

As old and as true as the sky;

And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, 

But the Wolf that shall break it must die."

-Rudyard Kipling

During my four months in India I will try and keep The Law of the Jungle,

 taking what I need and giving to those in need.