February

I will probably be too ambitious in this blog, but now that I actually have the motivation AND the time to write, I better make the most of it.

Update on Sara’s last month or so: I must admit it hasn’t been such a wonderful month overall. There have been too many days where I fought feelings of drudgery, stress, frustration, self-pity, and/or worry. It is hard to know whether it has been that many circumstances have brought me down or if I simply haven’t handled the usual struggles as well as usual. It’s probably both. Anyway, I managed to remind myself to look at the big picture when details start to consume me, to take one thing at a time, to get regular sleep and exercise, and to say no once in awhile when expectations get too much. More importantly, I have been reminded by some very important and loving people lately to make sure and get spiritual feeding once in awhile, and to lean on friends and family when I need to talk/write it out. I have to say a big thank you for the thoughtful and uplifting emails and talks that have come my way recently to keep me going.

With work, there is some hope on the horizon for some important movement forward. It has to get worse before it gets better sometimes, and that might just be where things are at the moment. Presently, the Board of Directors for HMI is stepping in a bit more to help in the absence of full-time leadership, and as they prepare to hire many new people for full time positions. I cannot tell you how relieved it has made me to anticipate the input and concern from an Academic Committee which has been called for a meeting this coming week. I resist making big important decisions for HMI for a variety of reasons, but it has been difficult to be continually in a place where big decisions need to be made and there’s been no one to do it. Again somehow, God has heard my cry for help!

The pictures here are from a field trip I was able to take with one of the classes at HMI. We went to a historical city called Bidar, where there are several important worship sites for various religious groups.

One morning recently, I happened to be struck by a song on my ipod by Carrie Newcomer that goes like this:
holy is the dish and drain, the soap and sink, and the cup and plate, and the warm wool socks, and the cold white tile, showerheads and good dry towels, and frying eggs sound like psalms, with bits of salt measured in my palm

it’s all a part of a sacrament, as holy as a day is spent,

holy is the busy street, and cars that boom with passion’s beat, and the check out girl counting change, and the hands that shook my hands today, and hymns of geese fly overhead, and spread their wings like their parents did,

blessed be the dog, that runs in her sleep to chase some wild and elusive thing

holy is the familiar room, and quiet moments in the afternoon, and folding sheets like folding hands, to pray as only laundry can.

i’m letting go of all my fear like autumn leaves made of earth and air, for the summer came and the summer went, as holy as a day is spent

Holy is the place i stand to give whatever small good i can and the empty page, and the open book redemption everywhere i look, unknowingly we slow our pace in the shade of unexpected grace, and with grateful smiles and sad lament, as holy as a day is spent, and morning light sings “providence” as holy as a day is spent

This message was echoed over and over again throughout my day. I thought a lot about how God transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. At a time when I’m actually starting to feel moments of ordinary too often (even in India!), I was definitely transformed by this message and have had a better attitude ever since.

The picture here is of Sports Day at UTC in Bangalore. The 4 teams are marching at the opening ceremony. The ones here in front are members of my former team (house).

Now, finally, before I go, I need to respond to a question a friend wrote to me in an email after my recent picture blog. She said that she noticed that people often sit on the floor in India. She wondered why? She wondered if back problems were prevalent? She wondered about those with disabilities and/or the elderly. I spent some time thinking about it and decided to share my thoughts here in the blog.

My basic response is: It’s cultural. It’s what people are used to doing. It is easy and practical, it saves space, and it keeps people in touch with the earth. In the same way that food is experienced even more sensually through eating with one’s hands here, sitting on the floor is extremely tactile.

I like it. I like sitting in a circle on the floor at devotions. I like laying out a mat and spreading food across it, sitting among a family for a meal, sitting out in the lawn for a talk, or in my living room for a game. I find that floors are kept very clean here, but even when I’m on a dirt floor or outside, the ground is usually not such a bad place to be.

Then I wondered if Indians ever question why Westerners always sit in chairs and eat with silverware. Does it seem rather sterile and detached to them? How many of us have back problems from sitting in a chair at a desk all day? For those of us who are a bit short in stature, chairs can actually be more uncomfortable if they are too high of the ground. Heck, kids often fall off chairs or tip backwards for a nice bump on the head.

Don’t get me wrong; although I am rather a ‘floor’ person even in the States, I really miss a recliner or cushiony couch sometimes. My ankle bones sometimes dig into the ground, legs fall asleep, or my hips can get really sore/stiff after sitting ‘Indian style’ for awhile. I’m not really used to it for long periods of time, and I am in awe at how limber some of the Indians are around me. There are certainly those who seem to labor at making the move all the way from sitting on the floor to standing, but while they are sitting, they seem to be quite comfortable. And of course, there are also plenty of chairs in India. It is actually not so often that I sit on the floor. I am offered a chair regularly and appreciate the thoughtfulness, but usually decline if I have the choice.

Just so you know, when you come to visit, it is more likely the hardness of the beds that will be a challenge rather than periodically sitting on the floor.

With love from your barefoot, yellow fingered (turmeric!), floor sitting friend,
Sara