Dropping onto the face of the planet.

Kripalu is a place. It is my home right now, and today is my "Saturday". Usually during Saturdays in the 'real' world, I appreciate the luxury of being able to amble around my house in the peace and quiet of a space that I have created for myself, go to the market, pick out 'my' food, arrange it in my space at home, plan a meal to cook...many, many things that have no function in my life now.

Here there is no personal space. I have a twin bed on the upper bunk, 10"x20" of a window ledge, a 20"x18" bedside table (the top side of someone else's closet), and approximately 18"x18"x48" of clothing storage. And a spot for my large suitcase and shoes under the bottom bunk.

I love it.

I never realized how much ego was attached to the space we allow ourselves to have to ourself. And it has been one of the many things I have been confronting and letting go since I have arrived here on the first.

So here I am, no dishes to do, no meals to plan, no shopping pending, now my priority at the moment is updating my loved ones. I have lived here for two weeks and have toyed with the idea of starting a blog but now I am ready. I have not dropped off the face of the planet, rather, something quite opposite has happened.

What I really wanted to write about was an experience I had yesterday. After the produce chopping for the day was complete, my friend Carolyn exclaimed, "Let's run down to the beach and jump in the lake!" Mind you, this isn't Missouri. Here a "hot" day just means that you can barely stand being outdoors in your bikini. So, daydreams of Missouri in mind (for me anyway), we scrambled into our outdoor gear after work and toppled down the hill to the lake trail, cackling and shrieking because we couldn't run any less fast than the hill allowed, which was damn fast.

We swam out into the water and all these green things grabbed us, long spirally sturdy stems who grow towards the light at the top of the water. After an invigorating swim we crawled onto the dock, unintentionally (for us) draped and decorated with these things. So that was a photo op.

We then shoved off onto the Volunteer canoe and paddled out to the island, discussing ideas for art installations as therapy for the planet. Carolyn is involved with public art in Boston and is a great source for networking and info. More on her later I'm sure. Mainly we discussed excitedly a teacher trainer here, Kelly, who is a grad student at RISD and makes clay yoga mats and does her practice on top of them as installations. Carolyn and I riffed on that idea, discussing this Boston harbor area that she is involved with, how we could roll out 100 clay mats and have 100 people practice and bless the earth.

We arrived on the island, crawled onto the dock and started exploring. She showed me wintergreen growing underneath my two favorite trees (again, I probably need a picture of this) and we ate some. People in New England, by the way, love foraging. We had an impromptu yoga practice on some earth, overlooking the lake. It was very pleasant, so pleasant that suddenly my senses were filled with the aroma and sensation of thyme. I looked down, and thyme was growing wild, carpeting the ground that I was practicing upon. The herbal sensation was inexplicably satisfying and left me feeling very connected and happy.

So here I am, dropping onto the face of the planet, and I will try to update you all as much as I can.

With love, and

Victory for all!