Sitting on a train

Sitting on a train, creeping along, in a berth with a woman sleeping covered with her shall in the 90+ degree heat, perhaps for safety, 6 young men resting side by side, squeezed together, and a couple with a baby. Vendors passing with snacks, baubles and books, fellow travelers asking for photos with us.

The hot breeze from the window barely brushing my skin as we cross patches of greens and browns, rice growing in it's different stages, or piled up waiting. Cows and goats grazing amongst the plastic bags, farmers tending to their crops, outdoor fresh air bathrooms, colorful temples, birds flying past, dried up riverbeds, garbage dumps, small towns with cement, thatch and corrugated metal, rich and poor side by side... motorbikes, buses,  rickshaws, oxcarts, bikes and cows waiting for the train to pass. Slowly hills appear in the distance.

Sitting on a train, heading from Pondicherry/Auroville in hot Tamil Nadu to the Western ghat hills in Kerala to cool down and dry out for a week.  To leave the bubble of the  former French occupied, current French/European colony of guru seeking seekers, new age hippies, idealistic retirees, raw food vegan yogis.

Searching, seeking...Ashrams, Auroville, the Matrimindir...Sri Aurobindo and The Mother... their photos everywhere, peeking out at you. Folks coming together from around the globe seeking unity and community in a non-religious pseudo religion philosophic spirituality.

Creating new living, relating, educating. Reforestation, hope for water in a time of drought as local farmers commit suicide for lack of ways to support their families. Organic permaculture, biodynamic sustainability community unity and yet pollution, inequalities, economic disparities, and disregarding.  Humans doing their best... One day perhaps reaching their goal of transcending to the super-mind  beingness spoken of by their gurus, a new evolution of humanity.

Us...dancing, exploring, learning, listening, connecting, growing, sharing, healing, freeing. Tibetan nun,  European expats, Mumbai travelers, water spinners, friends making connections and coming together in unity of a shared desire to live in beauty.

Water water...healer...learning, sharing, holding, releasing, softening. Aquatic bodywork courses, practice, sessions... love flowing, hearts glowing, tears falling, dreams dancing, healing happening...water water water.

Missing loved ones at home. Making new friends, saying goodbye again and again. Smallest of interactions with a smile and kind words not even understood, but with the language of the Heart in common. Long term friends where this goodbye may not be the last, perhaps, or hoping, holding onto something sweet, wanting it to last.

Sitting on a train 1 month ago in Kerala...a work exchange with a beautiful family in Sarang Hills... 

Droplets in the dust at my feet
As I say "good-bye"
Sadness in my heart that I have to leave
The beauty of Sarang Hills
The radical, revolutionary re-foresters
Creatively cultivating community, culture and learning
Self confident, alive and happy free-thinkers
The laughter and music and conversations
The nourishment of both belly and soul
An honor to be of service
Working, learning, sharing, playing, laughing
Sadness in my heart that this is lost
In my country, in my family, in my life
Re-remembering and Re-connecting with
What I want, how I want to live
Droplets of tears at my feet
Because my heart was opened

India... Kindness, fury, hope, desperation, poverty, wealth, selflessness, greed, compassion, harshness all swirling together in chaos and perfect order. Saris, sandals, scarves, dupatas, dhotis, and jeans. Samosas, dosas,  fiery hot curries, chapatis, lassis and mangos...pizza, gelato and French bakeries and... occasional tummy troubles.

India
wildlife...Elephants stomping, sambar deer honking their

warning, birds of many colors and shapes and songs, giant Malabar squirrels scampering, primates playing, pruning, jumping from tree to tree with babies  holding tight, crocodiles swimming and sunning, jungle fowl, wild peacocks strutting their stuff, dog sized mouse deer seeking shade.  Swelling inducing bites of tiny red and scorpion ants, mosquitos, not just leaving itch but carrying possibilities of dengue and malaria

Smells flowing in the air around my nose.  Smells of grease frying, garbage burning, scents of jasmine flowers in women's hair, cow dung, spices...cardomom, cloves, chai and curries, rancid rivers, rotting creatures, exhaust choking, wafting insence, and urine soaked earth.

Dry dust flying in our face as we ride bicycles...in the road are chickens, cows, goats and dogs sleeping and roaming,  people walking, motorbikes weaving, buses passing at high speeds in opposite lanes with oncoming traffic. The one in front has the right of way, even if they cut you off, no checking behind,  driving on the left, or the right, or the middle... merging turns, chaos abounds, horns honking, and honking and honking, yet there is a calmness of sorts. Traffic dictates presence, becoming one with the flow, as a flock of birds or school of fish.  Sometimes the most dangerous are the tourists who didn't grow up riding bikes.

Noise and noise and... all night movies on loudspeakers, motorbikes motoring, buses honking, birds singing and chirping, squirrels chattering, dogs barking and howling, roosters cock-a-doodle-doo​ing, venders calling out their wares as they sing syllables foreign to my ears.  Sounds of children laughing and playing, crows cawing, calls to prayer, cats in heat,  temple songs blasting from tinny speakers worshipping...and sometimes quiet in the stillness of the early early morning, as the moon sets and the sun begins to rise.

Sun up, waking up, starting fires to cook, gathering water, sweeping the front walk, creating the days​ koloms, washing babies bottoms, yesterday's rice out for the dogs or the passing hungry human, laundry hung to dry in the hot hot sun, creating communities outside in the streets.

Children's greetings, "hi, how are you, I'm fine, what is your name, bye." Shy neighbor's baby blowing kisses. Head waggling smiles, curious stares, grumpy grimaces, struggles and joys showing on their faces.

Sitting on a train, to move my body, my mind, my heart, my spirit. To shift my patterns. To learn about the world, my relation to others, to myself. 

Sitting on a train...Traveling this journey of life, until it is time to get off.