45 (okay I went over) Things I Learned on the Polish Tour - Summer 2011

1. So What have we missed????
   Poland 1 - 15
   Woodstock 1 and maybe 2
   Germany 1
   Germany 2
   Bhakti Fest
   US 1
   US 2
   Greece 1
   and now
   India 1b
   That’s a whole lotta’ livin’ that’s has happened over the last few months that I haven’t updated you on.  I’m terribly sorry, and well, not all that sorry.  I realized today that I’m quite sure I haven’t had a room, to myself, since pretty much January and I guess I’m a touch tired.  Anyone who knows anything about the Polish Tour knows I’m really tired. So, of course it would make complete sense that I’m writing this at 12:21am on October 12th, right???? Jet Lag. Again.
   I’ve realized that I’m a mess when I travel from west to east and I’ve been doing that for the last 3 weeks. 1 week in Virginia from LA, 1 week in Greece from Virginia and now I’m in India from Greece.  So, I’m working on figuring out this jet lag thing... I’m not very good at it.  
   Now, how did I get here, you wonder? Let’s see....  
   Really, the wheels started turning for me to come back to India last March when I met Indradyumna Swami.  He had given me a suggested travel path and this was at the end of it; however, I don’t know that I knew it would be possible... Of course, they say, with direction from one of these actualized souls, comes the ability to carry out the direction as well. I have seen this over and over again this year, far too often to question it.  However, my coming back really didn’t solidify until the last couple weeks of the Polish Tour (which would be the last couple weeks of August) and then financially, it wasn’t possible until mid september... Lucky for me, the Magic Carpet ride has continued and I am here.
   I’m deliberating how far back to go in this post. I have a few promised entries coming... how I was ripe for the picking and some wisdom for women that I’ve learned on this path... So, let's start from where I left off for now... and then... 

I think I'd like to consolidate the Polish Tour into 45 Things I've Learned from The Polish Tour - Summer 2011

1. If one is really sincere in their desire to do something, they can put up with, and welcome, a great deal of change in their life.
2. You really don’t need to be fluent in each other’s language to really love someone and honor and admire them.
3. People ALL over the world are starving for Spiritual Elixer.
4. People ALL over the world are trying to fill the mythical hole in thier hearts and souls with ‘stuff’
5. People ALL over the world are looking for the same thing, it just looks different on different people
6. Doing dishes until 3am, with people you love, is some of the most fun one could ever have.
7. Singing the Nrishimha Prayers twice a day is amazing, and I miss it.  
1. Nrishimha is a fierce protector of people who take complete solice in God.  When they are attacked and they ask for protection or need protection, He will take care.  
2. We sing Nrishimha Prayers at the beginning of any endeavor where there may be potential danger, for protection. We sang them on the bus to and from the festivals. It was beautiful
8. Language is words.  Feelings and Desire to Know come from the heart. It’s amazing how much one can actually understand by listening to another person’s heart.
9. There is such thing as too much cabbage.
10. Living with 21 women, in a small space, is difficult.  If you let it be.
11. Living with 250 people, in a slightly larger space, is difficult. If you let it be. 
12. Sleep is prescious.  
13. Sleep is VERY prescious.
14. No really, don’t mess with someone else’s sleep... 
15. It’s really not that hard to be considerate... Think of the person in front of you as supremely important. If they think of the person in front of them as supremely important, eventually the person you are standing in front of will think of you as supremely important.  This is really not that difficult... 
1. sometimes this is hard to do when someone has messed with your sleep.
16. The capacity some people have to give and give and give and give is unbelievably incredible.
17. You actually don’t really need to speak more than a word or two in each others language to communicate affection. 
18. Life’s lessons can all be learned in listening and watching.
1. a little inquiry never hurts this process
19. Being humble does not mean being treated badly is okay; however, turning a negative experience into a positive is the very enviable trait called Tolerance. 
1. I’m not very good at this thing called Tolerance.
20. Life never stops, no matter what.  It’s how we deal with it and respond to it that changes.
21. A bed can be way overrated.  
22. A floor can be very comfortable.
1. So can a bus seat, for that matter
2. and a box
23. Playing soccer (or football depending on where you’re from) with 13 year old Polish kids can be the most cathartic thing ever.
24. Everyone has a talent. 
1. Most people have multiple talents.
25. One is never too old to learn, to be enlighted, to ask for help, to change routes, to be humbled and grateful in the process.
26. God (whatever you want to call God) is unbelievably merciful and forgiving.
27. Communication is important.
28. Pasta sauce with olives in it, is a must from here on out.
29. A dirty bathroom is, well, dirty.
30. Alfred Hitchcock was originally going to write a screenplay about Poland, called “Bees”.  
1. He changed it and called it “Birds”... 
2. A movie about Polish Bees would have been just as good...
31. Standing on a bus for an hour trip, after doing a full 12 hour day, is not that difficult.
32. Children are beautiful. They love fully, without reservation or filter.  They are truth and have all the answers.  They are a perfect mirror during a quest for God.
1. think about that one
33. It’s VERY difficult to explain the Polish Tour to someone who has not experienced the Polish Tour.
34. Sometimes the people who have separated themselves the most, from the beautiful parade going by, are the ones who want the invitation to it the most. 
1. I witnessed this while handing out invitations on harinam... Usually I distributed them along the sea shore and it was amazing to see how surprised and grateful people were, who were standing in the water, to be included.  
35. Ukrainians, Mexicans, Americans, Russians, Polish, Germans, Latvians, South Africans, Austrailians, Indians, Italians (and ultimately any ‘ans’) can work together beautifully when there is a common goal.
36. Almette is one of Poland’s great contributions to the world... the world just doesn’t know it yet. 
37. Sometimes, there are people who don’t want unconditional love.  They respond in anger and ferocity to people who are love.
1. that’s kind of weird, huh?
38. Love can happen anywhere.
39. You can’t take the human out of the process of knowing God (whatever you want to call it).  Sometimes people mess up.  Sometimes people do regretable things. these people deserve that same unconditional love. 
1. sometimes more. 
2. it’s me who doesn’t have the patience, not them.
40. It’s really not that difficult to change a pattern of behavior, I might be used to, in order to be respectful to someone else’s norms.
1. ask yourself... are they a problem for me? no. am I being a problem for them? If yes, really, truly, how difficult is it for you to just change a touch for a little while. Out of respect.
2. If it’s really that difficult, are you just being stubborn? and, dare I say, ego driven?
41. Just because you’re tired, and maybe someone messed with your sleep, does not make it okay that you weren’t nice to someone...
42. Power struggles happen everywhere.
43. Not having the internet for days at a time, is okay.
44. Even a glimmer of hope, understanding and unconditional love is better than none at all.
45. Tour Birthday’s are pretty cool.
46. A spritual master/guide, on this path to knowing God (whatever you want to call it) is vitally important.
47. I want to go back.