Snow Day?

Today we cancelled our program in the afternoon. My first day off. While we dont have snow days here, we did however cancel because of the the weather. Volcanic ash is raining down today in Guayaquil. Please don´t worry, there is no threat. No one has been hurt near the volcano, for from the ash. The volcano is errupting in the Andes, and the ash is coming through trade winds and raining on all of us in the coast. A spare T shirt to cover your mouth, and its all good.

The wind that is bringing the volcanic ash here to the coast, is the same wind that has been cooling us down during the season change. For the last several mornings, the rainy season has seemed to transition out, and we have experienced some cool weather. I am so happy that rainy season is over, and for the next 2 months, we can all live a bit more comfortably.

• Coming up this week we have a medical team coming into the hospital so I look forward helping them out for a week at Guayaquil´s Childrens Hospital.

I read something the other that caught my eye. It was from a book on Toaism and the author was writing about sharing your life experience, and sharing the truth. He wrote not to focus so much on finding the truth, but about making it real in your life. Making it real in our lifes, that takes commitment and dedication.

• Do good, and good will follow you.
• Lose your self, through serving others, and your will find your self.
• Change is the only constant.
  

True right? And there are so many other simple truths. We hear them. But do we live by them? Making it real in our lifes, that takes commitment and dedication. I think what the author was trying to say is that we hear, see, and know truth. But we can only find truth in our personal experiences. Everyone has a different journey, a different environment. But everyone shares the same truth that comes from within.

Join me in a moment of silence at the computer. Though this may seem rediculous, I want to share this excersize that has been helpful to me (even just now as a write this in an internet cafe with slow service and little kids looking over my shoulder asking me what I am writing)

Close your eyes. Breathe in. Breathe out. And focus on your breath as you try a Thich Nhat Hanh meditation that brings us present to the moment. We cannot be truly happy living in the memories, no matter how pleasant, of the past. Nor can we appreciate life now, if our focus is in the future, no matter how bright the future will be. Hapiness is in the here and now (say each verse as you focus on breathing).

Breathing in I calm my body
Breathing out I smile
Breating in the present moment
Breathing out, I know this is a wonderful moment

Connecting our body and mind with mindful breathing, we let go of everything and enter fully into the present moment. Enjoy the present moment, wherever you are, and whoever you are with. Only when we appreciate each day as a Gift , can we find true hapiness.