Obstacles

February 25, 2008

You always feel good after you have vomited. At least for a little while. A few minutes. Seconds, moments? Okay, maybe not for long.

As some of you may know, I am taking Malaria pills, Doxycycolene, very strong anti-biotics.

Well, Tonya and myself left the Ashram for a little while a week ago, and we went up to Kochi and met our two Bread and Puppet friends, Greg and Susie. Along the way we took a tourist boat from the Ashram to Alleppey along the backwaters of Kerala, which was SUPER relaxing. Just floating along the water, waving to children who would rush out of their tin huts and say "hello, one pen, one pen please". Tonya gave a little girl her pen, and then she chased the boat so that she could throw Tonya a beautiful read flower.

Kochi was nice but busy, although we took a ferry out to Fort Kochi, a peninsula owned by the Portuguese back in the day, so lots of churches, synagogues, temples, fisherman, very relaxed. We saw a Kathakali performance there, an ancient performance tradition that uses half mime, half dance, with wild hand and eye gestures, crazy pounding on drums, and serious make-up and costumes (we watched the performers transform into their characters for one and a half hours).

We thought that we would be traveling with Greg and Suzie, but quickly realized that they had a different agenda. I think that it is alright; they are both performers and are always ON all the time. I like to relax and ease into life, ya know.

Well, you get what you ask for, cuz life sort of made me stop for awhile. On the boat back to the Ashram, we were in the front of the boat for awhile, like two hours, and I had my shirt off listening to my ipod. All of a sudden, I didn't feel well. I went underneath to lay down. We stopped for lunch, but let's just say that I didn't eat that day. In fact, I was very very sick. At lunch, back on the boat, on the side of the boat, on the back of the boat. Yes, too much sun, in conjunction with the malaria pill (which I totally forgot about), and the equation was sunstroke. Luckily, well, I don't really believe in luck, so Blessedly, we were going back to the Ashram, where there is a big hospital. Tonya dragged me over to the hospital, literally, with the help of others, and they actually had to put an I V in me to put necessary electrolytes back into my body. And then I couldn't eat for days, fevers, chills, dizziness, etc.

Yea, not that much fun, but really good for revelations. Mom and Dad, I am all better now, really, I have been back to the hospital several times, and everything is in tip top shape. we are thinking of leaving the Ashram soon, where to next we are not sure, but we have been here so that we could re-cooperate for awhile. Tonya had a bit of sickness herself, only out the other way. She also is in tip top shape.

So yea, lots of obstacles, lots of challenges, lots of learning. A time of transformation.








Oh, did I mention that we cut off my dreads?

Shawn and Tonya