Distractions

What are distractions?  Are they really a comfort zone?  As I view a new perspective on living--mine and the surrounding population--do the distractions ever let up?  If you are looking for food in the garbage piles or rummaging for pieces of discarded life bits, is that so different than bargain shopping at the grocery store or sorting through the sale table at the mall?  How about price shopping for the caterers who will feed the guests at the next party or searching on line for the best price on a new or used vehicle?  Comparing prices on a luxury cruise through the South Pacific or bargain shopping for a new house with some acreage?  Are we so different?  The challenge of living is never ending.

My time in India has new distractions, but there is more time for what is between them and the actual distractions aren't as pleasant as I had before.  All of it becomes more of an even playing field--and then there is the ashram.  It creates an environment where the biggest distraction is my mind.   I love to sit in the Pahari Baba Temple area for an hour or two, and then relocate over to Gurudev's area to sit with the population--taking the unobstructed presence with me.  Not too different than going from the country to the city. There are layers within the ashram that allow me to work with the layers within myself. At some point, the separation will end.