Finding Beauty

I am on a mission of sorts here in Rishikesh. Not only have I left everything and everybody back home in the US, I have now left everyone here in India. I took off by myself for bit here in India to explore Ultimate Freedom. I have no worries and no responsibilities. I have no obligations to anything or anyone. I have no schedule. I can stay as long as want and leave whenever I want to. I can spend my time howsoever I please, wheresoever I please. Now, breathe that in. Sounds pretty awesome, right? Every now and then I have to pinch myself to make sure I am still me.

I am most grateful for this opportunity, and I want to get the most juice out of this experience as I can possibly squeeze out of it. Each morning after my daily routine of sadhana, I set an intention for what I would like to explore for the day. I want to test all my beliefs and concepts so that they become convictions. If my beliefs or concepts fail my tests, then I want to drop them once and for all. I am downsizing my belief system, so to speak.  Yesterday, I explored the path of least resistance to see what it was like being open to everything within reason. I discovered that life is much more joyful and juicy when you engage with it.

Today, I went out to look for beauty wherever I could find it. I asked myself where was the most beautiful place I could go and what was the most beautiful experience I could think to have. The answer came, "taking a dip in the Ganges at the rocky beach near Ram Jhula." I also decided that morning was the most beautiful time of day, and the most beautiful walk I knew of was the quiet pat along the river between Laxman and Ram Jhula. It's a long walk from where I am staying to where I was going, so I knew I would encounter many beautiful things, so I decided to visually document the beauty that I knew would unfold for me. I put my camera in my pocket, and off I went in search of beauty.

The sun had already peaked up over the mountaintop, and it's glistening hues of pink greeted me as I turned the corner onto the main road. As I winded down the steep, rocky path of broken road, the soft sounds of morning sung to my ears. Birds chirped, cows mooed, people chattered and rickshaws sputtered. Turning a corner a statue of Hanuman, that I must have passed a dozen times before and not seen, caught my attention for the first time. With his hands folded in prayer, it was as if he was blessing me on search for beauty. I noticed the sweetness of his smile and the humbleness portrayed on his face. I was touched by his beauty.

I saw countless signs of beauty everywhere I looked. It was like a new world had opened up for me today. It wasn't that I didn't think yesterday that this was a beautiful place. Who doesn't think Rishikesh is beautiful? It was like I was seeing it with different eyes. I don't know how this inspiration came to me to set these intentions. How does any inspiration come? They just come and if we are open, we act on them. So far in my exploration of Ultimate Freedom, I am learning to live life more juicy.