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wife first retreat
patbb
Veteran
hello,
I just drove my wife to her first 10 days Vipassana meditation retreat.
It felt like sending a kid for his first day of school! lol
kind of very happy and sad at the same time.
I just wanted to share this with you because perhaps sometimes we run low on motivation, but if we do good to ourselves, then we can help others.
We can help them directly and help them by inspiring them, when they see the changes in us.
If we keep working hard, we can change the world!
I just drove my wife to her first 10 days Vipassana meditation retreat.
It felt like sending a kid for his first day of school! lol
kind of very happy and sad at the same time.
I just wanted to share this with you because perhaps sometimes we run low on motivation, but if we do good to ourselves, then we can help others.
We can help them directly and help them by inspiring them, when they see the changes in us.
If we keep working hard, we can change the world!
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Comments
It was a very old sounding lady.
She wanted to speak with my wife.
After i told her that my wife was away for 10 days and couldn't be reached, she told me it was very urgent that she should talk to Katrina.
I asked her her name and when she answered, i immediately recognized her.
My wife went to a retirement home a while back to give a talk and answer questions about wills and the law for elderly peoples.
When my wife came back that night, she was unusually happy and in a wonderful mood. She told me all about how after the talk, she met with a bunch of wonderful old ladies and she had a great time discussing with them, visiting their apartments etc.
The talk was in the morning but she ended up spending the entire day in there.
My wife was greatly moved and inspired by one of the lady who seemed so peaceful, bright and full of wisdom and life.
So they became friends.
So to come back to the original story (that old lady who called last night), after i recognized her we started to talk a bit.
I asked her what were the emergency and she told me: "well i'm very ill deer, and I wanted to say goodbye to Katrina."
I did not sense any kind of sadness or self pity in her voice, but still i replied: "well i certainly hope you will get better soon and have a quick recovery."
Then she replied to me: "I'm 84 years old, I don't want to get better, I want to go!" and then she laughed.
After i told her where my wife were (10 days meditation retreat), she was very happy for my wife and she told me she had been a mediator for 50 years.
...
anyhow, I found this lady to be wonderful even if my interaction with her was only a few minutes, and i find her inspiring so i thought i would share this with you.
Perhaps enlightenment is asking too much for this life time, but this incredible sense of peace and equanimity while facing everything that life has to offer us is wonderful and certainly achievable.
Unfortunately I was not present when my dad passed away in his late 80's but he was very much at peace and I too hope to have few regrets and not be afraid when my time comes.
I think your conversation with this lady will be a cherished memory as you dwell on your own destiny. As for your wife it's good that she was doing something as important as her first retreat when her friend called...
I'm heading to my first retreat in early august at the Blue Cliff Monastery which follows the teachings of the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh needless to say I'm counting down the days...
anyway, thanks for sharing your story.
ivan
personally, I believe that I'm at peace with my own death. I may get hit by a car today on my way back home and i will have no regrets about my own life.
The only worry I have is about my wife. I would prefer to know that she would be fine without me. But i don't think she will, maybe one day.
I don't have these worries about my family and friends, as I know they will be fine.
In a way i was wondering about how to announce this to my wife when she come back.
The first meditation retreat can be quite moving for some people.
When you shake the foundations of your life, everything will be shaky a little bit for a while... Then slowly settling.
I would have preferred if i did not have to announce to my wife that her friend may have died while she was away, just when she came back and is still in a cloud.
But then i figure i have no choice because she may still be around in 10 days so she must know right away.
I too feel I do not fear death... Some of you may have read my post about the time I choked on something and reached a point where I let go and accepted death... ironically that is what saved my life... Sometimes when we let go of life it propels us to live...
Please share what you can as I for one am curious to say the least.
Wishing you peace and happiness,
ivan
wife came back, she did the whole retreat sleeping only 3 hours a night because she was terrified of ghosts at night!! (city girl in a forest...)
Overall she seemed to have had a great experience.
I'm amazed and very happy she stay the whole ten days
Her friend did not pass away while she was gone so this is a good ending to the story
They could meet and talk etc...
She called the retreat a DIY exorcism (many who did Vipassana retreats will understand this
thats it, hope you guys have found a satisfying end for this story
And I'm glad your wife's friend didn't pass away while your wife was gone. I know she's tired and wants to go but it's good that your wife will have a bit more time with her. We don't appreciate or learn from the old and wise nearly enough in this culture and that's a terrible shame for everyone. You and your wife, on the other hand, are smart enough to know a good thing when you see it.
Glad your wife had such a productive retreat!
I'm also glad your wife had an "overall great experience". I have sent in my own registration fee for the Thich Nhat Hanh retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery in August, and I'm so looking forward to that!
Talk about being great experiences, I get to go for a 7 day workshop at the University of Cincinnati for a Classical Guitar Workshop, perform a few times there, come home for a day then head on to the Monastery... At 48, I'm finally living the kind of life I always dreamed of! and of course Buddhism is at the very center of it all!
I will post about my retreat experience when I get back
Thanks again,
Ivan
good for you!
I think living the life is much easier once we get out of our own way
having great experiences is easy and happen often, but few ever realize they are living great experiences when it actually happen, and i can remember many times when looking back where what i was living was very special but i could only focus on the negative at the time, and couldn't resist spoiling everything for myself.
enjoy your seminar and retreat!