![](\"https:\/\/photos1.blogger.com\/blogger\/4804\/510\/400\/Buddhist-Thanksgiving_.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\nDharamsala (McLeod Ganj) has been wonderful thus far. And tomorrow I switch hotels to a place around the mountain in another little village called Bhagsu<\/a>. Everything around here has filled up \u2013 with Russians<\/a> \u2013 for H.H. the Dalai Lama\u2019s public talks later this week. So I\u2019m off to some sort of resort (we\u2019ll see) for my last two nights in the area. I will see the first day of H.H.\u2019s talks, but then it\u2019s off for another 2+ day journey across India, this time all the way to Kolkata (Calcutta).<\/p>\n There I\u2019ll see an old friend, Soorjya, from my MA days in Bristol that I haven\u2019t seen in over 5 years now. The very thought of so much time slipping by, and yet holding so many great memories of those days as if they were only last week, has a perplexing effect. It\u2019s not the only factor at hand of course, but lately I have been feeling an immense amount of gratitude. Grateful to be alive. To see an old friend. To realize that time does slip by\u2026 Take heed.<\/p>\n Grateful to be living in India. Getting paid<\/i>\u00a0to live in India (!?). Grateful to my employer, colleagues here, and amazing students.<\/p>\n Grateful for the space<\/i>. The space of mind, for the most part, of being relatively unattached. Free to wander at will and to rest as needed, to simply dwell in silence and listen to the rhythms of my own inner world.<\/p>\n Grateful, on the other hand, for the family and friends \u2013 the community \u2013 to whom I really am<\/i>\u00a0attached. That said, despite people\u2019s worries and woes over facebook, I am glad it\u2019s there and glad for some of the things I find there, such as:<\/p>\n A bit of a late \u201cthanksgiving\u201d post\u2026 Dharamsala (McLeod Ganj) has been wonderful thus far. And tomorrow I switch hotels to a place around the mountain in another little village called Bhagsu. Everything around here has filled up \u2013 with Russians \u2013 for H.H. the Dalai Lama\u2019s public talks later this week. So I\u2019m off […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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