Looking back at my week away...

Arriving home this evening I looked around at the airport, the train home and the surrounding streets.  I tried to find the beauty in the small shops and crowded pavements and it was certainly difficult.  The familiar has a comforting quality, in the way that old worn slippers feel like family, but the familiar does not have enough beauty for me to want to immediatelyslip into it and forget my past week.

It is inconceivable to me that 48 hours ago I stood 1600 feet up in the Alps looking at snow-capped mountains and pine covered hills.  It is equally hard to look back to just a few days ago and remember the views of the lakes and mountains and forests - the stillness and the clarity wiped all my worries away in a matter of moments.  I forgot about the bills, the insurance renewals, the dental appointments and cracks in my walls.  Indeed, I really didn't remember those things until I pushed my way through a week's worth of post blocking my front door.

I cannot begin to express how graciously and lovingly I felt we were hosted in this wonderful community called Gautama.  Our friends were open and generous with their time and their hospitality.  They shlepped us around from town to town, from gelati place to pizza restaurant, from mountain top to lake, without a word of complaint.  It could not have been more perfect.  The weather cooperated and the sun shone every day.

Nice for me was meeting old and now new friends.  I felt that Ralph and I were wrapped in the arms of the community and adopted as family.  I learned new recipes and tried to share some of mine.  We laughed together and sometimes even cried together.  The intimacy of friendship was so nourishing and helped me to be more open and brave.

Now I am very tired and tomorrow will write more and post photos of my splendid journey. Even if the walls are cracked and the vistas are not particularly inspiring, it is also  good to be home.