Thailand

I have been here in Thailand for about a month. I came here on June 9th to apply for a new visa for South Asia. Everything has gone smoothly other than Fed Ex briefly misplacing my passport. But everything has worked out and I should be getting my passport in the mail tomorrow. In the meantime...

Its been a very nice time of resting.I am staying at a wonderful place called the Juniper Tree which is a retreat center for people in my line of work. My little cabin is up on stilts in the middle of trees, grass and quite. Some of kids here call them "tree houses". The staff here is wonderful. I get three meals a day, my laundry done and my room cleaned. There has been a steady stream of seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

I have spent alot my days sleeping, reading and relaxing. Some days- I have done practical things like getting new glasses and going to the dentist. Other days- I have been more adventurous and tried my hand at whitewater rafting and mountain climbing. The wonderful thing about Thailand is that its so green and peaceful. So, really, it doesn't matter what you do. Everywhere you go its beautiful. Its like being in Colorado.

I didn't really realize how much of a break I needed. When I first arrived here, I really thought I needed some sort of help. I was angry, overwhelmed and tired. But as the weeks have passed, the more myself I have become. And I realized that the problem wasn't necessarily me or my lack of spiritual maturity. Its just the fact that South Asia is a pressure cooker and sometimes you just have to let off some steam. So, I have soaked in the nature, hamburgers, used book stores, shopping, mountains, Starbucks, elephants and foot massages of Thailand and I must say...I can breath easy again. A favorite professor used to say 'sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap' And I think in my case...the most spiritual thing I needed to do was come to Thailand. :-)