1/31 from Auroville

Morning reflection:
I was thinking this morning about the void, and not knowing what will emerge from it. And then I realized what a blessing the void is, for who knows what will emerge from it! Once again I am connected with the mystery. And that complete stillness I felt at that moment brought such peace over me.

I so much wanted to hold on to the stillness, but it evaporated with the "wanting." The stillness is a gift from the universe, a wild thing which can't be leashed. So I thank the universe for its gift, this momentary glimpse into the void, or maybe more accurately, this moment of becoming the void.

Sheila (from USA) with Raju, her favorite auto rickshaw driver

Sheila (my good friend from Seattle), Rekha and Eugen (from Chennai). I met Rekha and Eugen two and a half years ago while traveling in Karnataka, India, and it is really nice to see them again.

I am now in Auroville, on the coast about three hours south of Chennai. I will be traveling through Tamil Nadu with my good friend Sheila for the next few weeks, and we are here in Auroville with my friends Eugen and Rekha from Chennai. I walked on the beach at sunrise. It was very busy with fishermen readying their boats and shoving out to see, along with the boys and men squatting, doing their morning "business." The safest place to walk is in the water, for the squatters seem to station themselves a bit above the water line.

Cute boy on the street

Looking into someone's front yard

Another good sign:
The very delicious South Indian restaurant across from our hotel in Chennai wrote on the sign advertising their restaurant: "Partly Air Conditioned Hall"