Happy Holidays from YWB (December 2022 Newsletter)

I just returned from India, where I went for a quick visit lasting just 11 days. (I visited Delhi and its suburbs, and not my childhood home in the Himalayas.) Despite some anxiety and uncertainty, it was a trip full excitement and anticipation, thanks largely to my daughter who treated me to the entire trip and who travels there often on her way to Tibet and Nepal.) Having her there for reassurance, I was able to relax and enjoy the trip.

Life is very different in India from the way I remember it. Yet life is the same everywhere, isn't it? People bustling about for work, leisure, and pleasure… but with one essential difference. What stood out conspicuously was that all life forms happily coexist. Along with the overwhelming number of people, there were cows and calves, feral cats, street dogs, almost human monkeys, donkeys, and bright and colorful birds ranging from large peacocks to hummingbird size, all living together. It is a life of 'live and let live'. During the day the constant din of traffic, animals and people fills the air. At night all is silence, at least where I was, except for the constant low-key chatter of monkeys.

Rich and poor, simple and sophisticated, old and young, traditional and modern, all acknowledge the right of others to be there. All is quietly right with the world. No one is better than anyone else. No one owns anything that is outside of their own minds and bodies.

Simplify your own life by simplifying your own mind and minding your own business. Stay connected to what is, and not what might or might not be.

Namaste,

sipra