“Happiness can only be found if you free yourself from all other distractions.” ~ Saul Bellow
If we sit down to write out our goals, how likely is it that we would list “be happy”? The great majority of us want to be happy. I’ll go so far as to say that’s the whole point of having goals. When we talk about wanting our lives to have meaning and to be purposeful or when we work on following our bliss, happiness is the root goal.
And yet, we get distracted. We list a million other tasks and goals that we think will bring us happiness but we don’t focus on just being happy. It’s as if that goal is not lofty enough or it’s too self-indulgent. I’m dropping that hang up. When someone asks me why it is that I’m making such a big shift in my career and in the way my life is structured, my reply will be very simple – because it makes me happy.
There is a freedom in not knowing what to do next. We cannot be right nor can we be wrong so we don’t need to worry about the decision. All we can do is clearly see the options, try one avenue, and then try another if need be. Once we can admit this to ourselves, embrace it and be okay with it, a lot of the stress falls away. The suffering of our lives lies in our indecision to act, not in our actions.
Tree growing on mountainside in Munnar, Kerala. India.
This picture is one of my favorite photos from India. After a torrential downpour high in the mountains of Munnar, Kerala, the sun came out and lit up the entire valley as my incredible driver and guide, Jose, wound us safely down toward the hotel. We pulled over to the side of the road to take in the pastures down below and the mountains up above.
On the side of the mountain, we found this tree. The roots entirely exposed and yet solid as a rock, healthy and strong. Jose said it had been in that state for years, monsoon season after monsoon season.
“How is that possible?” I asked, thinking of all of the tree that are routinely knocked down by storms in New York City’s Central Park.
“Miss Rose, this is India. Here everything is possible.”
As we made our way toward the hotel, Jose told me about his plans to leave his current job and start up his own bike tour business when his contract is up at the end of the year. He has been leading mountain bike tours all over southern India as a side business.
He’s become so passionate about it, that he’s undertaking his venture full-time. He sees the upside of this risk and wants to capitalize on it. The worst that will happen is that it won’t work and he’ll easily go back to working for a tour company because he is so sought after for his knowledge and expertise on everything South India.
Here I am fretting about my upcoming leap when we have so many more advantages here in the U.S. to change our lives for the better. Meeting Jose was certainly the Universe speaking to me loud and clear. “Go and see what you find. Learn. Explore. Do. Everything is possible. It’s up to us.”
I’ve been a supporter of GOOD for several years. Fresh out of business school, I moved to New York in 2007 and became intensely interested in social entrepreneurship. Poking around online, I stumbled across a fairly new publication that described itself as “a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward. Since 2006 we’ve been making a magazine, videos, and events for people who give a damn.” That was GOOD enough for me. I’ve been on their mailing list ever since.
They are teaming up again with L’Oreal to present the Women of Worth Program to “celebrate women for their contributions to their communities.” In a time when our communities have so much need and so many people who want to make a difference, this program shines a light on those who serve as an inspiration for all of us.
This year, ten amazing women will be chosen from your nominations to win $10,000 for their nonprofit organization of choice. One national honoree will be selected from these ten to receive an additional $25,000 towards her cause. We all know amazing women – let’s give them our show of support for everything they do for all of us. Nominations close on May 31. Past nominees have been recognized for their work that includes everything from fostering underserved youth to finding cures for pediatric cancer. Learn more about their stories here and nominate a woman you know today.
India revealed itself to me in snapshots. I think about it more in pictures frozen in time rather than as one continuous experience.
I arrived in Kerala, a state in the southwest region of India, at 3am to a massive thunder and lightning storm. My incredibly competent and kind driver, Jose, and guide, Rex, made their way to us (welcome garlands of gardenias intact!) and perfectly navigated the rain and windy roads that define this region. The storm was raging outside, lighting up the entire landscape down below.
“This is one wild storm,” I said sleepily.
“Look, Miss Rose, God is taking your picture,” said Jose.We all laughed.
(Everyone in India referred to me by my middle name as they often refer to one another that way by custom. Plus, my last name is a real bear!)
And that was my first insight into Jose and an indicator of all of the insights and perspectives that I would receive from him in the following days as we wound our way through Kerala. In India, no matter how grim the situation, there is always an upside.
K. D. Lang sings that love makes sweet and sad the same. What’s true for love is also true for India.
It was the hardest and most incredible trip I’ve ever taken. India pushed me to my edge at almost every moment. I had the chance to experience the full range of my emotions, sometimes all at once.
I would catch glimpses of ordinary, every day living like playing cards and sharing tea, only to turn and see that I was bearing witness to deeply powerful events: a woman in deep prayer at a temple and the first day of a newly married couple’s life together. I wept and then laughed out loud. I had profound insights with a deep sense of peaceful knowing, followed my massive amounts of confusion that made me question everything. India was nothing like what I expected it to be – it was more and it was less, in equal amounts.
I’m unpacking my journal and my pictures. The 8 days I spent there may have given me a lifetime of writing material. So much of it still needs sorting, tending, and reflection. I struggled with the idea of how I might make everything I experienced available through these daily posts and determined I couldn’t. India needs more from me.
As part of my advanced yoga teacher training at ISHTA, I have to complete a research project. I considered a half dozen different ideas until I realized that I was being handed the perfect opportunity for research and reflection upon my yoga teaching and my personal yoga practice – India. Just as yoga was born out of India, the country and her people gave me a new lease on life. And that’s worthy of extensive exploration.
By the end of July, I need to complete my research project and I am going to put together an interactive experience with writings, photos, and video footage that uses my time in India as a lens to re-examine my yoga. Pieces of this project will be published on this blog along the way and once it’s complete, I’ll publish the link to the full work. It’s the only way that I think of to really honor my time in India for all that it is worth.
When I first began to plan this trip almost a year ago, my friend, Akash, told me there are two kinds of people in the world: the kind who come to India once to check it off their list and the kind who return again and again to take in its magic.
“You, Christa, are the latter,” he said. He’s right. India, we’ve only just begun to know one another. I am certain I will be back very soon.
I imagine by this point my cup will be running over with gratitude for all of the kindness and generosity we have been shown through this journey. It will be hard to express in words, but I will do my best upon my return. Namaste.
Today marks the last day that I’ll be tooling around Incredible India. We’ve left the day entirely open for Delhi to reveal a last day of adventure for us. I’m hoping to see beautiful friends, Akash and Himani, who were the original instigators of this trip. They connected us to Sunshine Tours, who made all of our fine arrangements to make this the trip of a lifetime.
India, what’s on offer today? Please lead the way.
“There is something good in all seeming failures. You are not to see that now. Time will reveal it. Be patient.”~ Swami Vishnudevananda, Founder of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and disciple of Swami Sivananda
Of course while I’m in India, I’ll be soaking in some yoga classes and Ayurvedic treatments. My lovely friends, Nithya and Karthik, have made arrangements for me to meet Nithya’s uncle who is an elder at the Sivananda Ashram in Delhi. I am overwhelmed by their generosity and thoughtfulness to make this a part of my first experience in India. This is the exact ashram I wished to visit during my stay because of their devotion to spread yoga to all who wish to know it.
The Sivananda training system aims to retain the vitality of the body and decrease chance of disease by simply and naturally cultivating the body and mind of the practitioner. Sivananda Yoga class is a traditional, slow paced, meditative class that helps encourage proper breathing, flexibility, strength and vitality in the body while calming the mind. Because Yoga is a spiritual system with a physical component, this non-competitive approach helps the practitioner gain much more than just a healthy body. A typical open class includes pranayama (breathing exercises), warm-up including Sun Salutations, 12 basic asanas (yoga postures) with relaxation between postures, and finally, deep relaxation based on the 5 principles of Yoga. Total beginners are welcome, as are more advanced practitioners. The teacher will modify the postures to suit your level.
The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres is a non-profit organization named after Swami Sivananda of the Himalayas, one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the 20th century. It was founded in 1957 by his disciple Swami Vishnudevananda, a renowned authority on Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga. Its purpose is to propagate the ancient teachings of Yoga and Vedanta as a means of achieving physical, mental and spiritual well being and thereby create a more peaceful world. The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Nataraja Society, New Delhi was established in 1992 by Sri Swami Vishnudevananda.
The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre is a non-profit organisation run by voluntary staff and dedicated to the aim of disseminating the knowledge of yoga. The activities of all the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres take place through the practice of karma yoga (voluntary service). All talents are welcomed.
I imagine that I may be taking 1,000 pictures in Agra, the site of the Taj Mahal.
We’re taking the first train out. Once we arrive, we will meet our guide and depart for our sightseeing tour of the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. We’ll take an afternoon excursion to Fatehpur Sikri and then take the last train back to Delhi.
Taj Mahal (translated as “crown of palaces”) isthe world’s greatest love tribute: the Taj Mahal built by Emperor Shah Jehan for his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal in 1565 on the bank of the Yamuna River. The exterior is decorated with arabesques and texts of the Koran inlaid with precious stones. The Tomb itself, while pure white marble, consists of an octagonal building with a terrace square, surmounted by a dome 26 meters high, Agra Fort Or Red Fort, the most beautiful 17th century Mughal architecture.
In 1565, Akbar began to build the Red Fort with its high red sandstone walls: inside, south, is the Jahangiri Mahal or Palace of Jahangir, built by Akbar to the north, the Pearl Mosque, built by Shah Jahan. The “Khas Mahal” which forms three pavilions, one discovers a beautiful view of the Yamuna and the Taj Mahal
Fatehpur Sikri is the ancient capital built by Mughal Emperor Akbar and whose palace is a fine example of Mughal architecture of the sixteenth century.
These magnificent red sandstone ruins of the middle of the plain are the remains of one of the capitals of Akbar. He founded it in 1569 to express his gratitude for the birth of his son, Selim. The building principal is the great mosque, probably the best in India. The Palace of Jodha Bai, built for Akbar’s wife, Rajput, includes a courtyard surrounded by a gallery surmounted by buildings and covered with a glazed blue roof. Akbar’s private apartments and exquisite palace, Sultan Turkey, is found in another court. The Panch Mahal palace has five floors, which includes room hearings. We will visit the palace and Bulund Darwaza, the largest gateway in the world.
Christa Avampato 