it gets personal.

I finally have internet. This was seriously a pain and a half to get this thing set up. Anyways, I made it! That was a feat in itself, and I am pretty freaking proud of myself. I can now cross “travel internationally alone” off my bucket list (not that that’s really on my list, but figure of speech? idk). I’ve been in India for about 3ish days, and I am surviving. Ha. But, the heat is ruthless and the struggle is real y’all. I want to shower again as soon as I step out of the shower, it’s that bad. I’m just trying to ignore this aspect. But everything else is going awesome! I’ve started both my Sanskrit and yoga classes and I could not be more pleased with how they are each turning out. My teachers are so incredibly intelligent, and I really feel as though I’m going to get a lot out of these next couple months here! Time is going by so quick here already. Even when I’m not doing anything in the house, the clock is just ticking away. I don’t even realize that it’s afternoon time. I had some serious jetlag though when I got here. I just wanted to sleep all day. I still randomly get really tired, and I am still waking up around 4 in the am, and can’t fall asleep for an hour, and then I’m up around 6:15 since my yoga instructor comes around 7. My grandparents have this decent-sized balcony, and in the morning it’s actually cool enough for us to sit outside and take the class there. It’s pretty great.

I had forgotten how personal of a country India is, seriously. At the airport when I was waiting for my bags, I had my buggy and I was standing in front of it so I could grab my huge bags, and there were people hanging all over my buggy and my backpack and my neck pillow! Of course I didn’t say anything, because it didn’t really bother me, but whatever. People are just so close to one another here and it’s cool. Even when you go to a store or anywhere, everything is so informal. Everyone talks to each as if they’ve known each other since birth. What I’m getting out of that is, if we treat those we meet like family, I think that initial awkwardness can almost be eliminated. But, on top of that, it can make it easier for us to see the positive in others as opposed to the negative. I’m guilty of this as well, but we’re so quick to judge others, that we forget that we have flaws that make us imperfect as well. But, if we can just treat the other individual with a little bit of love, and a lot of respect, we’d get along with so many more people than we already do. This has been a recurrent theme of a lot of my conversations with different groups of my friends over the past few months. How can I see the positive light in others and why is it so hard to see the positive first? Over and over I kept saying just don’t focus on the flaws, accept them as they are. But, it’s even simpler than that—it’s something we’ve been taught since kindergarten—treat others the way we want to be treated. This is a practice that I definitely need to put more effort in.

My Sanskrit teacher put it in a really awesome way. He was teaching me the meaning/significance behind the word Ohm. It is a symbol of Brahma (God). But, it’s such a powerful syllable, that we have to pair it with something else. Brahma means vast, not just big, but so freaking huge that we can’t grasp how vast we’re talking. But, in that vastness is love for every single creature that walks this planet. I mean every single one. Our love for others and everything should be that vast, because God does not make mistakes when he’s creating. So, who are we to say that someone else or something is “bad”? If this supreme being/energy/ball of fire (whatever you call it/wanna call it) has made that other person or that other animal or whatever, do we really have the place to question the beauty of it? He went into more detail, but I just wanted to capture it real quick. My spiritual journey in life is getting a turbo boost here. My faith in my culture and my religion is becoming stronger, but the goal isn’t just religion. It goes beyond that. Religion is a path you can walk on, but spirituality is something so much greater than that. Everything I’m learning here is creating a stronger relationship between me and the Greater Force and Creator that encompasses this universe we live in.

Today, really appreciate the beauty of something, whether it be your family, someone you meet, nature, or even yourself.

Mosquito Bite Count: 6 | Serious Craving: Taco Bell Mexican Pizza

outside the gparents/circa 630am

outside the gparents/circa 630am