India Part 3: The Wisdom of the Rain Tree

“You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”

– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

Three weeks ago new inspiration drifted into my life, and at first I felt called to finish this series on India, but I went with the flow and allowed other ideas that came to me to guide me in what to post. I feel ever grateful that the inspiration made everything flow more easily, especially my storytelling because of the readers whose feedback let me know it was what they needed.

This third part about India happened nearly two years ago, and I wrote part two several months ago. I already feel this being a bit disconnected from the other two parts, kind of like when Frank Darabont was no longer part of creating The Walking Dead. (You can’t tell me the series went off track after that!)

If you need to get up to speed before reading this post, please click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2. The short version? I went on a business trip and on my first evening in India, I found out my mom collapsed and was hospitalized. I had already been traveling a path of enlightenment, but the trip to India turned out to be pivotal in getting here and being who I am today.

On Saturday, 8 December 2018, our team had a day of sightseeing. One of our other colleagues arrived overnight, and we enjoyed catching up with each other over breakfast. He was born in and grew up in India, so he talked about how things have changed, differences in regions, and other insights that were helpful in getting familiar with our home away from home the next few days.

Our itinerary was two sites: Shree Bhoga & Yoga Nandeshwara swamy Temple in Nandi Hills and Bangalore Palace. Please visit the links to learn more about them.

We came to the temple, which is actually a group of three temples, as tourists among other tourists as well as people there for worship. We walked barefoot in sand – one of the strictly enforced rules for respecting the sacredness of the temple. I had not walked in a place so old since 1995 when I spent three weeks in Europe for an economics study abroad trip in college.

25 November 2020 – Here I am, picking up where I left off, and as much as I originally wanted to tell you about India through my eyes, it’s not the message I have for you. So let me do us both a favor and skip right to it.

On Sunday, 9 December 2018, the group went to see the Palace at Mysore, but I stayed behind. I think I overslept and said, “Go on without me” (which in my head was how Eddie Murphy says it in Delirious.) So I had the day to myself and spent it in my room and on my balcony.

Even with my mom being hospitalized back home (and oh! word got to me that the fire department had visited my house because of a candle but causing no damage), I understood that worrying would not do any good. And I already received a 333 from the angels that everything was going to work out as it was meant to, so I felt grateful to be able to sit outside in December. It was also my mom’s 87th birthday.

The rain tree was my main view. I studied it, took pictures, and allowed my thoughts to flow. So many branches on a tree that was 119 years old during the time I visited. I tried to trace everything back to the trunk, which looked like maybe seven smaller trunks grew together. I wondered what the roots looked like underground. (BTW, angel number 119, which also means something to me because of the state highway 119 that runs through my town, indicates “the positive energies you have been sending out are now being returned in kind…’)

I felt like the tree was showing me what I thought about U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For: “I believe in the kingdom come / then all the colors will bleed into one / bleed into one / but yes I’m still running” I left organized religion because I felt like they all had it wrong, and at the heart of their beliefs, they were coming from the same place, but everyone wants it the way they first heard the story.

And now, nearly two years later, I feel the tree was whispering less about religion and more about being human… because everything since then and especially the last three weeks has led me to better understand what can’t be seen and what isn’t affected by distance, location, space, or time.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

– Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

Here lately I’ve been seeing repeated messages about connecting to the heart, and when it comes to chakras, we have seven. I understand now that spending time outdoors is grounding, which is good for the root chakra. Maybe that’s what I experienced in India.

So back to The Hobbit, I found something from looking at the rain tree even if I wasn’t looking for something. And as much as I enjoy traveling, I also love coming home. As Rumi stated, “It may be that the satisfaction I need depends on my going away, so that when I’ve gone and come back I’ll find it at home.”

My trip to India wasn’t in my plans, but be it divine orchestration and serendipity because I wasn’t looking for anything, I feel grateful for everything that happened for me before, during, and after. The rest of my India story is covered in other blog posts… oh, except the part about how I overslept on the morning of the second event, which was the same day I was heading back to the U.S. and so much about that day felt like it was just pushing me out of the box labeled Corporate America.

Here I am, still learning, growing, healing, and trying to fulfill my mission and purpose, trying to find the business aspect by allowing and not chasing, by letting everything unfold, and by living in a way that’s fueled by compassion, empathy, kindness, and love. And everyday I feel grateful for not only what I have but also for what has yet to arrive.

The other day I saw a quote in my Facebook memories. I don’t remember how many years ago it was when I first posted it:

“Intuition is always right in at least two important ways: it is always in response to something; it always has your best interest at heart.”

– Gavin de Becker

Thanks for reading and being a part of my journey because I feel like I’m crossing more into in media res than reflecting on experiences, which is how I thought I’d be writing blog posts when I followed my intuition more than a year ago.

Lately I’ve been trying to find balance as well as trying to process low vibrations so that I can elevate them. Gratitude feels like the key that unlocks the flow every time I start to worry about money or health. I already feel grateful for our Chandler Bing Thanksgiving tomorrow – grilled cheese and Funyons! lolz

And it is so much easier to cheer for someone else than it is to give myself pep talks and BELIEVE it. So I just have to quiet my mind and let my heart speak to me and guide me and remind me of everything for which I am grateful because it’s then that I know everything is going to be okay.

The rain tree… tree of life… I understand the oneness.

Luceat lux vestra.