Pedaling Up the Slopes in Tennessee

L ast two weeks have been in a buzz of travel and activity, but a bit of quiet here at iii, Tennessee.

After the blast of the Chennai mega event and Singapore, being here at iii for these nearly two weeks in the very green hills of TN are calming and healing for a tired body. Fortunately, I never tire in my spirit.

There have been trying situations in the recent past but an extraordinary display of commitment and love of people around me; we are across the bridge for now. It is in difficult situations that people get to express who they are, their strength, courage, sense of purpose and above all love find expression in ways that are not possible in normal, comfortable day to day events of life.

The first Inner Way type of event will be happening at iii starting tomorrow, Isha USA is gearing up for a lot of action in the coming year. We also have a mega Inner Engineering program the next weekend in San Francisco. US volunteers are striving hard to match up with India-level activity. This will mean a different mode of operations altogether. It is a challenge and joy to re-jig ourselves to adapt to new realities and function in a way that we have never done in the past.

Here at iii - a 1,300 acre property which is hilly and forested, and has a lot of walking trails that give me an opportunity to cycle after a very long break. Someone from India gifted me a mountain bike here, pedaling up the slopes makes my lungs tend to come into my mouth. I have cycled extensively in South India and at the age of 17, seriously planned to ride to Moscow; that was thwarted by parental concerns about my safety. Here I am once again on a bicycle realising what aging truly means. I have had a reality check in the recent Kailash trek. But the bicycle stretches you in a completely different way. Being killed by an automobile does not necessarily mean to be run over. Driving one and going places without effort is slowly draining all the sap out of us and the planet too. Get on to a bicycle or walk up a mountain to know what it means to live strong. Maybe a cycling expedition in Tibet. Are you on?