Our adventure in Brazil was wonderful. We got to eat vegetarian food for a week, meditate, find balance, play together, hang out with wonderful friends, and simply got to enjoy a simple life for a few days.
Our time was peaceful, joyful, & stormy.
One night Belle and I went to bed early while everybody was in the temple meditating. All of a sudden a massive storm started. Belle was already asleep so I cuddled up to her in the middle of the tent, trying to keep her warm and safe. There was thunder and lightning and more wind than I’ve ever experienced before. The tent felt like it was going to fly away, taking us with it, far far away. After a few minutes I felt raindrops on my forehead. The tent wasn’t keeping us dry any more. So we ran out looking for help. We broke into one of the tents on the property to get out of the wet rain. We soon realized that spending the night in our tent was not viable, since we were camped right next to a tree and the lightning was ominous. But the marquee tent that we found for shelter was also banging and crashing so we still needed to find shelter for the night. Sarah came to our rescue and spent a couple of hours running around in the thunderstorm looking for a solution for us. Finally one of my teachers offered us a place in his cottage. When we returned to our tent to get our stuff, it had completely collapsed in the storm. It was surely a night to remember.
What did I learn?
That trying to control life and situations leads to nothing but pain. From the moment we got to Brazil in the bristling, shelterless heat, I wondered how I’d get through the week with a baby. The more I wanted to figure things out, the more out of control everything felt. Until I resolved to relax and go with the flow and even though situations were still hard, stuff happened to make everything better.
What a paradox for someone raising a disabled child. What a gigantic lesson for me. One I hope to remember for a long long time.
Nice story.