May all beings be well, happy and peaceful

Found this short piece filed away.  Wrote it soon after arriving in Phnom Penh...
Love when the memories are jogged and you get a taste of what it was like in the beginning!  When sights and sounds could actually be shocking...

Don’t miss Wat Langka during your stay in Cambodia.  This is an excellent opportunity to see a beautiful temple, to get a glimpse of Buddhism, and to experience the serenity and stillness that results from meditation. Wat Langka is very accessible - right at the corner of Sihanouk and Street 51. It is one of the original wats in Phnom Penh not destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era.  

I went and experienced meditation myself on Saturday.   Having grown up in a Western country in a workaholic family this does not come naturally for me, but oh how amazing it was. I cannot wait to return. If you are a beginner, don’t worry!  The small instructional booklet provided was an incredible help.   I understood what meditation was, but I had never actually practiced it.  This assistance for beginners is perfect and very useful.  So I got my mat and my cushion, sat in my half lotus and attempted to focus on every breath.  

And then…Thoughts…Itch on my foot…Thoughts…Having to swallow…Thoughts …Itch on my neck…Thoughts…Strange twitch in my right arm…Thoughts…Biting my cheek…Thoughts…So thirsty…Thoughts

It’s like every fiber of your being is rebelling against this one thing that you want to do --- Focus on your breath.  I mean how hard can that be? It sounds so simple. I inevitably continued to find myself either biting my cheek, having an extreme need to swallow, or getting itches or twitches.  It is so strange how acutely aware you become of these sensations in your body (or thoughts in your head). Things I would never have taken notice of before.  But I followed my instructions and as soon as I found myself doing one of these things I focused entirely on it, it went away, and I returned to focusing on my breathing.

The itch went away, the need to scratch it disappeared.  The need for water also disappeared.  Eventually I could focus on just the breathing… and then WOW. My hands got so heavy, my whole body actually.  I felt completely separate from my body, like I was just looking down on it.  I had to open my eyes a couple times to make sure I was still on my mat in the temple!  It was a peculiar and yet extraordinary experience. 

I have so much to learn and cannot wait to go back.  We focus so much on feeding our bodies and being physically fit and often forget to keep our minds fit.

“May all beings be well, happy and peaceful.” 

- Buddhist Loving-kindness prayer

Two posts in a row sorry...don't always have internet in this lovely place I call home!

Here:  Meditation and inner peace are highly valued while living a busy and chaotic life is highly valued in the West (or considered a life of success).

Here: Servant hood, silence, and simplicity are valued.  Whereas leadership and individualism and passion are valued in the West  

I find myself strongly drawn to these principles and wonder if it is because this is the first time that I have been exposed to them.  Hearing an idea versus actually seeing it in practice is huge.  Maybe before … sure the concepts sounded good, but who is really going to live like that unless they are forced to?  Which brings me to my next thought – is there value in simplicity?  Or is that just a noble-sounding idea?

“The call to simplicity and freedom is a reminder that our worth comes not from the amount of our involvements, achievements, or possessions, but from the depth and care which we bring to each moment, place, and person in our lives.”  Richard A. Bower

I find there is so much freedom in simplicity.  There is something almost liberating about not being reliant upon a bunch of appliances and conveniences for everything. 

I think it’s highly amusing that people would say that don’t have time to live without all of their modern conveniences.  That is ridiculous. 

The majority of people I know here gets up at 5 a.m. and stays up late.  Outside of working everyday, attending school, everyone washes all of their clothes and cooks all meals without any appliances except ‘camp stoves.’  Remember, this is a different experience than when you are living in a place where people have disposable diapers and other things (unmentionable) that save us hours of washing and cleaning.  Sorry for bringing it up but otherwise you don’t realize how good you have it!  Imagine having 6 kids and not having diapers and wipes and diaper bags…haha!

There isn’t the option of having a washing machine, a dryer, a dishwasher, an oven, a microwave, much less a steamer, a rice cooker, a bread maker of a coffeepot (for the average population)!  Yet in general the people are impeccably clean, constantly washing clothes, showering at least twice a day, sweeping and mopping more than once a day.  I became frustrated with these things in the beginning.  I still get annoyed once in awhile, but I only have to open my eyes and see the world around me and the frustration immediately drains away. 

The point…there is time.  To do all of these things.  To think you don’t have time is just something society told you. 

And there is still:

TIME to always have a conversation (even if it's mostly gestures!),

ENOUGH to always share your food with everyone around you,

SMILES even when you are not feeling well or will have to stay up all night doing homework

I am happy to not have a car, to not have ‘modern’ conveniences, to not have fast food, to not have much.  So for me simplicity is invaluable, and it is the ultimate freedom. 

As always, I do not claim this to be the Truth, it’s just what I am trying to wrap my little brain (or is it my heart) around right now and wanted to share.