Remembrance

Last night Mom said that Selim was riding his bike the other day and singing a bhajan at the same time.  And yesterday afternoon he sang in the Satsang Hall with Jacob and Jero.  I struggle with the fact that I am raising a non-vegetarian boy and I wish for him is to feel the pull towards the Path and yet, the reality of life is that he eats meat and without a living Master to see, my Path is an abstract thing for him.  So to hear about his singing songs of devotion while riding his bike warms my heart.  I know he doesn't know what he is really singing, but I don't care.  The fact is he is singing a song of Remembrance.  At our end time, all of our devotion is counted and I believe these times will be added in his favor.

Then today I was sitting in front of the Museum of the American Indian waiting for it to open when two couples from India sat down on either side of me.  Our conversation started out something like this:

"Where are you from?"
"New Hampshire. And you?"
"New Delhi.  Do you know much about India?"
"I've been there three times."
"Really?  What were you doing?"
Taking a deep breath, I decided to tell the truth, "To participate in meditation retreats with my guru."
"Who is your guru?"
"Sant Ajaib Singh, disciple of Sant Kirpal Singh."
"Ah. Sant Kirpal Singh.  He was a great man..."

So even though I couldn't be at Sant Bani for the retreat this week, I did get to experience Remembrance, just not in a form that I ever would have expected.  It was a terrific way to start my day.

At 10:00 when the museum opened, we went our separate ways.  I really liked the museum.  I like the flow, the set up, the way in which the information is presented -- it just works for me.  I spent about an hour and a half meandering around.  I skipped some of weapons display and the explanation of various treaties that were signed and then not upheld.  I enjoyed the bead work, the contemporary art work and three major exhibitions, "Our Universes" which presents Native beliefs, "Our Peoples" which centers on Native history and "Our Lives" that focuses on contemporary Native life.  I took pictures of some of the art work but I don't feel right about posting them without permission.  So instead, here are some pictures of the outside of the building.



Native gardens




"Always Becoming" sculpture



Museum Waterfall

 

Backside of the Museum

From there I walked to Union Station and caught the Circulator bus which runs around the perimeter of the city and gave me a different perspective.  I took two different ones and ended up at the metro in Rosslyn.  I rode that back to my regular stop and picked up the hotel shuttle.  I got back to the room right after the US women won the quarterfinal game against Brazil in the Women's World Cup.  At least I got to see the highlights.
This week coming up is going to be full.  Our mornings are filled up with lectures, computer systems training and role plays.  We also have an intelligence briefing for those of us with high enough clearances.  I think mine is high enough, but I will find out on Wednesday.  And on Friday I'm flying home again.  Even though the weekend is regular length, I need to be with my guys.  This separation is really tough.  I need to get in two weeks worth of hugs in two days.  But tomorrow marks the half-way point of the program.  When I go home, I will be 2/3 finished. Every day I will be one day closer to home.