Here it is!!!!

I am here for work, but as most know me, I do not know where my profession ends and self begins. So, bottomline - I am a very passionate worker - Krishna would not be proud of me. But, I am definitely trying to follow Gita to the dot.

Anyway, mi poquito habla espanol (speak little Spanish). And, I am a very picky eater too, plus a vegetarian. Here, except for desserts, some life is used in each dish. Even beans and rice have chicken broth in it. Soon, I was avoiding food and eating more dessert and drinking more chocolate than any sane person.

I fell sick, I was hospitalized. It had a lot to do with the altitude than my eating, me thinks.

People in Durango cared a lot about me that not for a second did I feel alone, even in hospital bed. The plant doctor was rubbing my forehead. The controller had my stuff packed and delivered to the hotel I stayed at. The plant manager, every morning at breakfast tells me how much he is worried about me, he said I could have gotten into coma if I had not been hospitalized at the right time. I think he was just trying to scare me to pay more attention to my health and food habits.

When I came back, the hotel employees would give me 10000 suggestions on how I could have avoided the fainting incident

They let me use their kitchen freely at any time of the day. The same at the plant cafeteria too. To top it off, one night a hotel employee knocked at 10.30 pm…I hastily dressed myself and opened the door…expecting a call from work. He told me that the people at the hotel’s restaurant were worried that I did not go to dine that day. Then I explained to him that I had gone to a nearby place on the road

But, here is the bottomline: Even without a proper verbal communication, people of Mexico made it very clear to me that they cared about other humans that they may not interact with after a few days and did not know a few days earlier. It was as though I was their pet animal whose language they understood by heart and they greatly cared for. I can live in Durango for the rest of my life.

I just wonder what the hell is it that people use violence for when there is so much love in everyone’s hearts.

I have recovered completely since then, esta bien.

Pilot - "Folks, we have reached our cruising altitude now, so I am going to switch the seat belt sign off. Feel free to move about as you wish, but please stay inside the plane till we land … it’s a bit cold outside, and if you walk on the wings it affects the flight pattern."

And, after landing: "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."

More at http://www.101funjokes.com/airplane-jokes.htm

Cancun means snake nest. If I had known that before, I would have never gone there. But, this trip was definitely a divine calling. I had no plans, no maps, no reservations, no GPS, no directions, no habla espanol. But the most important thing was that I was placed in IMMENSE solitude and  silence. The first day, I was very uncomfortable. It made me look inward and I am not used to that. I was beginning to question the purpose of existence. I mean, WHY are we here? For making money, enjoying the pleasures, being good to others???  WHAT is the point?

But, by the time I left, I realized that solitude and silence are the ultimate ways to be one with the Infinite. After all, Buddha, Jesus, and all the great ones had to go through years of it to maintain their serenity, peace, and bliss.

I have definitely not got answers to my questions. It is okay, I will keep seeking. It took the great Enlightened one 39 days in a forest. I am a mere mortal, I can wait longer. Most important thing is, I feel initiated on this spiritual journey. Cancun vacation turned out to be my pilgrimage. I am so glad I went alone to a place where it was a chore to talk, even for me , with native spanish.

I am beginning to think the reason for life is to seek this ultimate truth. To be one with nature. To feel the great bliss of being one with the Infinite, being the infinite.

I am going to do this travelling once a year without my husband. My daughter proves to be a great travel companion.

On my birthday, I have promised myself a few gifts:

1. slow down,

2. 1 hour of silence and solitude everyday in the morning,

3. being humble enough to pray for what I seek everyday, being grateful is not enough, aspirations are necessary.

4. I am only accountable to myself.

Also, I was surprised at how my last blog on Carly’s last 2 paragraphs applied to me to the point. We did have 2 hour breakfasts!!!!