Dear Order Members. Spring has sprung, finally, after one last cold and damp weekend with a spectacular thunderstorm and downpour. The rain is great for the trees and undergrowth and this year the cherry trees, almonds, loquats and olive trees give and promise wonderful harvests. The old bones complain and ache when it’s damp and cold. I love this time of year here, flowers and fresh green everywhere, clearing out the swampy pool and getting it running again, tidying up what I call the «Italian» garden around the pool with its 100 year old vine growing across the West wall and the enclosure of the Cupressus sempervirens, the Mediterranean cypress (also known as Italian cypress).
Suryavana just went through one of its periodic economic crises. (There’s probably four a year!) Cashflow is the lifeblood of any business say the business gurus and having a couple of quieter months (income wise) resulted in a «pinch». I go down the list of priorities and cut out any expenses that can be postponed. The bank loans come at the top and are somehow «sacred», as in non-negociable, so they get paid first. Then, I get down the list, to my «salary». Being «self employed», I decide to put off getting paid for a couple months. The sensation is uncomfortable, I get irritable, the workload and responsibilities roll on relentlessly but my personal finances cascade downwards. I am so grateful that my yoga teaching enterprises keep things floating along!
This crises provoked a number of conversations with others that work around Triratna, consequently provoking a process of clarification of what I need and what I need to do in relation to Suryavana. Comparisons are odious, but talking to others did help me see more clearly and I relaxed back into the notion of attending to what I need and what the situation can provide. There is an inherent tension just like in any «work/livelihood» set up. It’s really important for me to connect with my work as a «labour of love» and not associate too strongly a monetary value to what I do. My time is infinitely valuable and inevitably finite, so the question comes back to what do I want t to do with this precious time.
I am currently in a therapeutic process with an Italian therapist based out of Madrid. Daniele. The meetings have been great, really helpful and after the first four sessions which was the original arrangement, I decided to follow though til summer (I have 10/12 sessions in mind). I wanted to focus onto a deep pattern of mine, to get wound up and then explode, in a what could be described as a violent temper. It’s ugly, but hasn’t resulted in bodily injury or death! Quite yet. It is such a deep tendency that back in January I reflected that I really need to get to grips with this. 35 years of Dharma practice hasn’t resolved it and I am not getting any younger and the risks seem to be escalating. What I am particular enjoying about the way Daniele is working is the use of imagination and looking to decipher the story «behind» the dynamic. Let’s see how it goes.
The last few days we are getting Suryavana ready for a big gathering of our Sanghas. We are celebrating the Awakening of the Buddha. I chose a weekend that falls between the two full moons of this May realizing that the celebration is usually associated with the first full moon of May. Never mind. It’s probably the most important Buddhist celebration in the calendar and I am glad we are marking it. There has been a great response from the Order and wider Sangha, with lots of offerings of talks and pujas and meditations and lots of folks wanted to come up. Suryavana is only one hour away from Valencia by car but just as well could be on another planet! Suryavana is looking splendid with its Spring coat on, I took out the «brush cutter» yesterday and trimmed the abundant growth here and there. Nature presses in from all sides so some gentle push back is called for. Love to all
