7. Reflections on a Gift of India
Forwarding address unknown
It has been 61 days since my Indian taxi driver drove me up the Chamundi Hill. I remember arriving with immense gratitude. I leave in two days now with the sense of a job very well done. This is beautiful because the future is always unknown and a job well done can't be taken away from you.
It's like this:
I have a . . .
6. The Barbados Papers
Watching paint dry
Danny Boy arrived early in the morning as promised but there was an absence of materials in his hands.
-You are going to wash walls today right?
I asked the question brightly.
Danny Boy said he was travelling home by bus because his girlfriend was working late and so he couldn't carry everything.
-I walked with this.
He . . .
6. Reflections on a Gift of India
The appetite of a writer
Today is day 51 of my 63-day Retreat. Thus far I have had two (minor) nervous collapses, enjoyably blogged, 'stood up' in my current novel in a way I have never done before in my previous writing life and written 39 poems.
My mind moves toward October 5th onward when I will be back in the Big Smoke. I am considering now which . . .
5. The Barbados Papers
A neighbour and a painter
It was week two of my life in Barbados. I could not say that everything was fine. I had my neighbour Gretchen in my doorway too frequently and this was just one irritation more.
-Hello, good afternoon.
She would call several variations of this into my dark flat.
-Hi - good afternoon.
Repeating it until I . . .
4. Yoga Practice for a Modern World
Stand up for yourself - set B
One very enjoyable approach to standing postures is to make the entire series about your feet. Your mind will slip and you will find your awareness somewhere else but keep coming back to your feet. Really spread your toes and spread them with energy.
In the West many of us are collapsed through the arches of our feet and this . . .
4. The Barbados Papers
The price of paint
I was here. This was Barbados. I had domestic trouble that occupied my first week. My landlady Mariette needed much coaxing from me just to buy the basics. Every day I did what I could to improve my physical circumstances and I made my morning swim mandatory or else. I wasn't sure if I had made a mistake coming . . .
3. Yoga Practice for a Modern World
Stand up for yourself - set A
The truth about standing postures is that they make the body bright. It can take discipline to get on the mat and do them but if you do you will be well rewarded. Standings noticeably improve posture, strengthen arm muscles, leg muscles, improve the trunk, and they help with finding a sense of grounding and balance. Once you get going . . .
Cover image credit: http://rosswillsherphotography.co.uk/
