Beautiful feeling

Today Rajan brought someone to cut down the work trees in the Jalabhoomi area of Buddha Garden. 'Jalabhoomi' means 'land of water' in Sanskrit and is the place where we have recently done a lot of earth works so when the rains come we will keep the water on the land so that it percolates down to the aquifer under the ground.

So called 'work' trees are a type of acacia which are very good pioneering trees but which are not indigenous to this area. We have taken them out to give more room to the indigenous trees to grow our own little patch of the indigenous tropical dry evergreen forest.

I planted the trees in this picture fourteen years ago close to what used to be a well. Now when it is so hot they give shade and I find this little patch of trees very beautiful.

Simple joys

Had such a horrible day yesterday with one crisis followed by another that I didn't have the time - or more importantly the energy - to create a picture. I couldn't think of anything that would express how I felt.

Then this morning we were clearing a bed of sweet corn stalks and a volunteer spontaneously started juggling with three of the cobs. It felt so simple a joyful and was a real tonic for my very battered self.

Navigating my way

Nothing is very clear at the moment. I have realised that I am more hurt and less resilient than I thought about what has happened to me in the last weeks. I also realise that navigating my way through this is going to take longer than I thought and it may be some time before I am clear about the way forward.

In the meantime I have to be patient, move slowly and pay attention to what is around me as well as what is within my known and unknown consciousness.

Moving around

Have spent a lot of the day moving to another room which I hope will be cooler than the room I had last night although I know the internet connection is not so good. It has a lovely sitting area overlooking the beach and the sea.

Have spent a lot of time walking around as well as sitting and talking to Daniele, who is setting up the place here, about what is going on. This is a picture of him buying fish from one of the fish wives. Daniele is a hard bargainer but meets his match with the fish wives who are very loud and give as good as they get. It was very amusing and I think they both did well out of it.

At Sri Ma

This is a picture of the room in Sri Ma where I am staying for the weekend. It is in the house which was built by my friends Bob and Jean who now live in the UK. I think it is the room which Bob used to use for his healing work.

I am feeling a bit better today although I don't really know why. Perhaps it is just part of the cycle that I seem to be stuck in at the moment. Or maybe I am really ill. Looking at the pictures over the last month or so I have been very up and down and how I am feeling now is no worse and in some cases better than some of my very down moments over the last weeks.

The upset I experienced was considerable and I wonder if I am expecting myself to recover too quickly. It is also possible that there is a 'new normal' which I need to understand.

Another slump

Another day off today and I am back into yet another slump. My stomach is not good and I feel so tired after a very bad night's sleep. I went to a Somatic movement class last night and seemed to have a bad reaction - muscles burning (and sore in the morning) and different things rolling around in my brain so I couldn't sleep.

I spent most of the day in bed but don't think that anything much has changed.

Heat and dust

When I go out at this time of year everything is very dusty, especially the trees at the side of the road. Sometimes they can look very beautiful - the red dust looking like bronze. But often they just look very droopy and ragged.

I went to Verite this evening and this is a plant near the road although I don't think it expresses the general feel and look of things at this time of year.