February 2010

Hello pet sitters!

I’m sitting at an Internet cafe in India and just wanted to check in.
I’ve been away for three weeks now: first in Bali and then a week ago I arrived in India.

This has been an incredible (and in some ways life-changing) trip so far and I still have 7 weeks that I’ll be traveling.

I met some incredible local people in Bali who really took me under their wings and invited me to temple ceremonies and to share meals together. Meeting these wonderful local people helped me really immerse myself in Balinese local culture in a way that I never anticipated.

The inner and outer beauty of the Balinese people was lovely to experience. The natural beauty and lushness of Bali was also a real gift.

I’ll be heading back there in 4 weeks to experience 3 more weeks there before I head home in April. I’m thrilled to go back to Bali as, in some ways, it feels like ‘home’.

India…is another story.

I arrived in Pune, India a week ago and there was a bombing at a restaurant that I was considering going to the same night it was bombed.

Instead of going to the restaurant I chose to meditate in the ashram I was staying at.

Had I been in the restaurant I would have been either injured or killed as everyone who was there experienced some type of injury.

The last count, according to the media reports, was that 11 people were killed and 60 people were injured. Everyone who survived the blast lost all or partial hearing in the bomb blast plus many other injuries.

I’ve never come this close to major injury or death and having this experience has helped me get in touch with, on a deeper level than ever, what is really important in this life.

I’ll be leaving Pune tomorrow and going to a beach town south of Pune (13 hours train ride from Pune).

Relaxing near the water after all the activity of Indian police and Indian army, not to mentioned the frayed nerves of the tourists and locals, will be a good thing!

On a lighter note, I have noticed how challenging it is for me NOT to go online on a daily basis. Even though I have not done any Six-Figure blogging or any work-related Internet activities, I have done A LOT of personal emails and personal Facebook checking while I’ve been away.

I’ve been exploring what it is like to not log on for one day and let me tell you: it is challenging.

So my next edge is to try not log on for a couple of days at a time.

It’s harder than it sounds! I encourage you to try it.

I notice even though not logging on for a day is challenging I feel so much more involved in life when I’m not logging on for 24 hours at a time.

Even today, I’ve somehow managed to be online for nearly 2 hours! 2 hours that could best be spent exploring this city that I won’t be in for much longer.

And on a final note:

Though I deeply love my work (working with all of you is SUCH a gift as is running my pet sitting business) I’m experiencing how deeply restorative it is to my soul it is to not work for a long period of time.

I wish you all a wonderful rest of February. I may or may not check in again in March.

If not, I’ll be back in action in April when I return from my travels!

Take good care,
Kristin