Capacity Building

 

Gurudev said that was my journey now (seven years ago)--capacity building. The caring of the land and knowing it from all of the exercises of weeding, weed-eating, and tree trimming has developed a sensibility like discovering each horse that I have had in the flow of my life. Magic carpet. Plastic pile removed, hay baled, and more. 

Chloe had just barked and warned me about a snake family that was under the last pile of debris to clean up. She had transitioned to being my steward and not just the reverse. Observing, shaping, and being part of the evolution of a beautiful soul was a privilege. Less then twenty-four hours later, she was struck dead by the neighbor drag racing down the street. Is it the contrast of life to death that is the deepest point of capacity building?

Steps of Effort and Change

 

What a measuring stick of change to work on a property. In two days, footing in the indoor, new gravel on the driveway, stall enlarged, pipes cut down in outdoor, grass mowed, fence panels moved, ceiling fans installed, and meeting new cool people. Grace.

Bookshelves

 

Morning view and light emerging

The outer details of the house, barn, and grounds are progressing rapidly. After assembling four bookshelves, I had a moment to start unpacking books, so they had a place to go. Very heartfelt to run across the books I studied while in India and photos of the ashram/Gurudev. Now, I have a place for a daily reminder visually as well as what is in my heart every moment. Pranam. 

Immersion

 

Bible belt, so meeting a lot of church going people. My church is daily life and trying to stay in alignment to right action every thought, breath, and action. With the abundance of people working on projects and the selling of greenhouses, I am exposed to a lot of people. I keep hearing Gurudev's point to capacity building. The pebble started in India and now the ripple is where ever I am. 

Amazing how quickly and with clarity everything is unfolding. A lot of talented, kind, and honest people are joining the team. I have been here for a month and the house is almost finished with painting, new fixtures, details of doors, radon test, mold management, and more. Still need furniture and to hang up the paintings/books on a bookshelf.  The barn is getting prepared for new footing, the outside arena for a surface once the greenhouses are moved (maybe by next Tuesday), and the driveway graveled (spraying weeds like crazy with organic spray.) 

Unbelievable how much the trees have grown leaves in just a month. The grass is over my knees. The weather is ever changing, but the living situation for me and the animals is awesome. Grace.

Inspiration

 

The inspiration for this move--horses and nature.

Each piece added is examined in its use and generates a point of gratitude. The wheelbarrow, the rakes, the brooms, the can opener, and so on are all part of the building of solutions for day-to-day activity. Learning from the remarkable team of people taking action at the farm: the electrician, the plumber, the grass cutter, the painter, and so on who are creating a safe, functioning work space. How interesting to take this all on as a transition from minimalism. It suits my energy level. Wonderful place and infrastructure. The horses are learning a new routine. Chloe is having a ball running, running, and running. 

Columbia, Kentucky

Next adventure!!!  Kentucky farm. Horses shipping out. Storage unit shipping out. In the morning, I pick up Chloe, my new dog, and I start the drive to Columbia, Kentucky. Work has started on the farm for plumber, painting, etc. Water works. Energy transferred. The drive will be 30 hours. Global nomad to owner of an eighty plus acre farm. 

Chloe

Last ride in Loomis on Lincoln

10 Year Anniversary

 

10 years ago to the day, I walked out of the hotel in Jaipur and headed to the ashram. I was a day early from meeting with the group, but I wanted to know the route and distance, so I wouldn't be late. The walk one way was about 1 1/2 hours. The group was staying 10 minutes from the ashram. I had just landed from South Africa and was use to walking. Curiosity drove me. I was use to traveling, so walking through a foreign city was nothing new. Seeing cows on the street was. Somehow, I had created a map and was about to test it out. The sights, sounds, and smells were unfamiliar. By this time, I was searching/seeking answers for the pain in my spiritual heart. 

2021. First year to not go to India. Pandemic. Heading to Kentucky instead. I am not sure if I would return to India if I wasn't going to see Gurudev. Although, I have grown to embrace the differences and it feels like a second home.

Something pulling me to Kentucky not unlike the pull to India. Curiosity and gratitude for what is about to unfold. Takao has been babysitting a rug that I was given from the ashram. Maybe there will be a floor to keep it now. I have been thinking about Durga and all of the wonderful festivals I attended. Maybe I will find a picture to honor her. The house is going to be painted. I haven't had a wall to hang anything for a very long time. A student from over 15 years ago drew wonderful headshots of two past horses, both dead now. 

My first home. My real home is inside now, but it will be fun to play farmer for a bit. 

Watching the Evolution of Self

Watching the evolution of Self in a way that I could have never imagined before. India provided the catalyst for discovering it as a way of being. Now, it grows and becomes the way I am. Gratitude and beauty for this unfolding/deepening. As a drop, I am in the ocean, but the ocean is also within the drop. KY is becoming a catalyst for going home in a way that is filling a voracious appetite. To drink tea with nature, horses, and whoever comes through the gate. 

Nurturing the Gap

 

I have been looking at another way to be with the horses over the past few years. Studying through the eyes of the horse. Someone visiting the current group of five horses for the first time gave a voice to her experience of hand feeding grass trimmings.  It brought invaluable confirmation of the design that I want to continue pursuing. She observed their presence, kindness, and awareness. 

My focus has been on developing their intelligence, so they can make choices. It requires leaving a gap, so they can think and not just react. I have to be a better partner to nurture the gap. The gap is where a lot happens. I confirmed that while living/learning in India.

Reduce the Fear

 

An opportunity to ride the horses instead of walk/hike with them. They have to make different decisions when I am riding. Marvel at how they evolve and take in their environment in such a discerning and thoughtful way. I try to give them time to make a decision on their own or from a place of asking rather then forcing. Develop the intelligence/confidence and reduce the fear. 

Tidying-Up

 

Before a transition, I have noticed a tendency to tidy-up and invest in new resources for the destination. In this case, I spent time investing in warm under-garments, boots, socks, gloves, and hats for the potential shift to cold in KY. Nice to go and examine the farm and location in the middle of winter and a cold front. No attachment to the outcome, but trying to ask questions and follow relevancy/depth in many new areas.

Astrocartography

 

Starting the process for buying a farm in Kentucky. Interesting to have an astrology reading for the site. Why not? We have readings for individuals. When I walked on the property, I had tears of awe and gratitude for the potential to ever steward such a wonderful piece of land. The reading supported those feelings. The Universe leading me to a place of supported work for a potential wellness/awareness center--two and four leggeds. 

Spring Signs in a Flash

 

Walking the same path almost daily with 5 horses. In just a moment, the trees are developing leaves, the flash of flowers, and the horses are shedding. Humbling how we could ever think life is about stability instead of change. Study of nature and the animals are often my go to place for truth.

Storms

 

Two days of rain, what is a storm? Watching nature and decisions it makes for water to move about. What a great study of dynamic decisions. 

Out raking, digging small water ways, pushing manure aside, and working with the dynamics. 

Caring for the animal family while wind and water are relentless. The decisions they make to stand, walk, sleep, and eat while it all swirls around. More dynamic decision making.

The dynamics has a stillness and quietness about it. 

Lessons from nature and animals. Thank you!

Merry-Go-Round

Walking in the rain with horses

Round-and-round. As I age, I see more clearly the circle of life and how my homework takes me through the work over-and-over again, but with slight variations. The first week that I stayed in India without the group, Gurudev commented on, "Why do we get so upset when life is just a circle?" Not that I doubted Gurudev, but the simplicity caught me off guard. I have thought of it as a spiral staircase with the small changes as I pass through the rolodex of life options. 

Looking at a piece with humanity and self where the unpredictability of both is probably not something to "master" but something I examine in every exchange. The examination can be a distraction from the state of inner peace, but I also see how it builds capacity. The design matrix is remarkable in the unrelenting options to inquire, examine, and how to take action. 

As a seeker, does the seeking ever end? Does it become its own obstacle course? Are there points where one can dismount from the merry-go-round? Does each horse represent an aspect of life, so dismounting from one can mean remounting another?

Looking Inside

So sweet and kind. What is behind that wonderful orb called an eye? Looking inside. 

Living Fire

 

Wonderment of nature, change, and living fire. Winter and what does that mean for animals? Care of animals? Their needs. Looking at where to live? Climate? Weather? Variables to examine when having a choice of where to live.

Ten Years Ago: How is that possible?

 

Ten years ago, I went to India as a last minute and last resort step in my life. Today, there isn't a day that I don't reflect on and try to integrate what I learned. Global nomad with horses. Pandemic has limited my travel to Hungary and India this year. Walking with horses while living in Loomis, CA and next to the Pacific Coast Trail that runs from Canada to Mexico. Tempting to just start walking. 

As I walked in India, I often thought it would have been fun to have my horse family with me. While riding my Hungarian horse, Nador, I ran into a woman walking her small herd of 5 goats with bells. Nador ate grass quietly while we visited and the goats grazed as well. Touched my heart deeply.