Time...

The older I get, the more amazed I am at how fast time passes....

Days seem to just fly by lately. I like it in a way. Especially when I have a goal in mind...a plan.

I was reading Operation Shanti's blog post this morning and when I saw this photo I was blown away at how these boys have grown. It seems like just yeserday when I was there and Kaleem (the boy in blue not looking at the camera) came up to me after we had distributed the shoes at the school he was then living at, looked up at me and said "Thank You for the shoes you gave me" and I immediately teared up...

He especially holds a soft place in my heart for some reason...It's wonderful to see how much he has grown up and how handsome all those boys are. They are all well on their way now...and the future will be theirs for the taking. No doubt about that! I can't wait to go back to Mysore and see them all again...

Time....

Is it normal...

to be so extremely fixated on a country that you Know you are unable to have residency in...
that there is NO WAY you will ever be able to just "Up and Move" there and not have any sort of hassle? (although I have been told for a price Anything is possible)
Is it Normal to think about being somewhere else every single day of your life...?
Don't get me wrong, I am very Grateful for what I have and where I am right now...but OH how I long to be...
in
INDIA!

Change...

is coming...

new post soon to come.

Stay tuned my friends!

Namaste~

Friends in "High Places"!!!

I was grinning from *ear to ear* the other day when I got this photo my my friend Angela who is currently living in Cochin, South India while her husband is there working.

We met online..she was a supporter of my recent charity "Practice for the Children Pendant" in which we raised $2500.00 US dollars for the children of Operation Shanti. (i have two pendants left btw if anyone is interested ;0)
but that's not what this post is about...

This post is about Friends. Friends who can make your day with a simple photo like this one...and I DO mean "make my day"!! Every time I look at this picture it just makes me Smile!

Angela and her husband have helped bring India to me...they know how much I love the country and the little "care packages" they have sent to me have just warmed my heart and made me realise that it's these little things like "masala tea, incense that I adore and burn literally all day long, lotus oil, that each time I open the bottle and close my eyes and smell it.. transports me right back to being there in Fort Cochin...beautiful bangle bracelets...earrings..OM pendants..a very special bracelet from Amma's Ashram..stickers (that are now decorating my laptop!!!) just so many wonderful little things from the country that I just SOOOO MISS, mean the world to me. Just sitting and looking at the decorative envelopes that they arrive in with ALL the beautiful stamps, and knowing how far it has traveled to arrive here in California.

Friends...who know what makes you smile.

Thank You my friends Angela and Steven~~~~

OM Shanti!

"Queens"

Ray and I always, ALWAYS, reminisce about previous trips to our beloved India and... as always it is on our minds, and always in our hearts. It's pretty amazing how people react when I tell them about my trips to India. Rarely do I get "WOW, I would Love to go to India", "You've been there 5 times"???!!!
Sadly, a lot of the time I get..."India...oh, I could never go there, it would be too hard for me"...

HARD FOR YOU???? (there's my reaction)

And that is when I realize that we, as Americans, can be so Completely and Utterly Blind to the fact that, Yes, we ARE spoiled...and then I think...Wow...what GOOD it would do for You to go to India and experience all the Good that is there..all of the Spirituality, all of the Happiness that we see each and Every time we go.

Yes, it can be hard..but it's an Important "hard".

If only everyone could open up their hearts And their minds to the beauty that Lives in a country that I so deeply love and long to return to...

Lessons can be Hard...but I have learned, in my short life here on this Earth, that those are the Very Best Lessons to be learned.

and so...onto the title "Queens"...

if you ever get to Bangalore,India..."Queens" is a "MUST" to eat at...if you need the address..just shoot me a comment~

and yes..last but not least...

NAMASTE~~~~~

Help needed...Women Please Read!!

A friend of mine who lives in New York contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in possibly helping her out by sending some of my "gently used" bra's to her as she has been working with an organization for awhile now called "Hands to Hearts".
I will let you read all about it below...
I sent three of mine today. They were actually pretty new, and I had them sitting in a drawer just taking up space...I have a feeling lots of us women may have some that are un-used, sitting in a drawer as well. If you do, and you would like to help out these women in Uganda..I know they would be so very grateful.
Here is the email...

Hello ladies,
Do you have any bras laying around that you're not going to wear anymore?
Maybe they're worn out, stained, or they never just quite fit right?
Would you be willing to donate them to women in Uganda who desperately need them? I am collecting bras for women in Uganda as part of a non-profit project through "Hearts to Hands International" (please see below)
You can contact me, Linda at pixietail@gmail.com or send to the address below.

Our Project:
Imagine spending everyday without a bra. Ouch.
Now imagine that your day involves walking miles to the water pump, walking even more miles to the market, and your free time is spent working in the fields...without a bra. Ouch.
Now imagine that you have had 4-5 children one of which you are currently breastfeeding, and you don't own a bra. Ouch!

Most women in rural Uganda do not own a bra. Women want bras, they just can't afford them. There are many health benefits of bras, especially while breastfeeding and trying to keep the breasts clean. Fibrous tissue can also be damaged when breasts aren't supported.
Not to mention the fact that it just plain hurts.

Laura Peterson, founder and director of Hands to Hearts International (HHI) is a dear friend of mine who is currently in Uganda working with these women to teach them about the benefits of safety and sanitation in childhood development (among the great importance of mother/child bonding).
One of HHI's supporters is traveling to Uganda and is willing to bring a duffel bag of bras. The only problem is..WE NEED YOUR USED BRAS IMMEDIATELY!! Hands to Hearts International will distribute this first donation at one of their Mother trainings in Kampala. (And because many of the Moms are breastfeeding, nursing bras are greatly needed!)

It only costs a few dollars to send a large Priority mail envelope~ and if you get a few friends together it will cost you even less...
If you can..
Mail bras by May 16th, 2010 to
Sara Cooper
910 Robinson Street
Los Angeles, CA
90026
after that date you may send them to
Linda Ruggiero
Fordham University Dept. of Biology
441 E. Fordham Road
Bronx, NY
10458

Thank You all so much for reading this..and Thank You even more for helping out with whatever you can donate~~

You can read more about this great organization at
http://www.handstohearts.org/

The Longing..

photo taken in Dharamsala, India 2008

walking along the path behind the main temple of His Holiness the Dalai Lama...

soon....