Wednesday, July 1, 2009

2009 07 01. Wednesday.

2009 07 01. Wednesday.

Since I'm no longer doing the 7am veggie chopping, it was nice to have some time for a longer meditation after my IAM practice. The combination of morning alertness with some chai buzz makes for very nice meditations.

The compost work happens in a field in the afternoons. The 8 ashram cows use the field in the mornings for grazing, pooping and meetings to discuss hay commodity futures (looking good during monsoon season). Since I may need to work in the compost area in the mornings I want to meet the cows and let them get to know me. Since I've only hung around cows once or twice in my life, I'm pretty nervous around such big animals. I went to the cow shed in the afternoon and the western lady there (I think she was French or Belgian) very kindly introduced me to the cows. She said 3 of them were pretty gentle, two were slightly rowdy and one was really crazy. I made a very clear mental image of the crazy one (brown spots on the forehead) so I could give it a clear berth at all times. And 2 of the cows were just very young calves (very cute!). It was very nice petting the 3 gentle cows and the calves. I'll try to visit them once in a while so they get to know me better. I said to them "Hey, I'm a vegetarian just like you guys!" I have this fear of some crazy cow breaking its rope and stomping me into the dirt, leaving me flatter than I already am. But other people walk past them all the time so I guess its OK.

One nice thing I'm discovering is that I can now pee in public a lot more easily than I ever could. Sometimes around the ashram I'm working and there's no bathroom nearby. I have a VERY bashful bladder, so peeing in public has always been pretty much impossible for me. But now, for some reason, its easier. I'm able to go to a corner of the garbage area or a corner of the compost and pee pretty easily. Peeing in public is definitely a required ability if you go on an India tour with Amma. The buses have no bathroom so all bathroom breaks just happen on the side of the road. I went on one short India tour with Amma and it was a REAL problem for me. Somehow I survived, but it was no fun at all. I'm saying lots of prayers that Amma will get a bathroom bus for Her future India tours.

Definitely more food waste appearing at the compost area. More and more people are arriving since Amma will be here in about 3 weeks. I was pretty exhausted after working on and directing the building of today's pile. It takes a lot of concentration and mental energy to direct everyone as we build the piles. We do it pretty quickly cause everyone wants to get done by 4pm so we can have chai and snacks on time. Definitely takes longer when there's more food waste. Have to build more layers in the pile, and it has to be layered correctly for the food waste to process properly. I'm trying to find the right balance between being easy going and relaxed on one side and yet being very clear, direct and efficient on the other. Not easy. Being the boss doesn't come natural for me. Maybe that's why Amma guided me to this work.

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