Today somehow already marks three weeks here and I feel I am really in the flow of things now. In the present. Just in time for me to start thinking about the future again... But I'll get to that in a bit.

My time at the farm every morning has become such an important ritual for me. Waking up before the sun, biking through the crisp morning air, collecting and praying around different flowers, seeing a daily work of atmospheric art as the sun peeks over the horizon, getting my hands in the dirt, interacting with the bugs and cats and dogs, and of course connecting with the unique people who share the love of all these things with me. 

It has become the consistent backdrop for me to observe myself and state of being each day. Oh how this waivers... Maybe I spent the night battling mosquitos or stuck in a nightmare or woke up to find some of my money had been recently stolen. Or maybe I woke up to a long nights rest or to the peaceful sound of rain or good dreams. Whatever the case, I have space to process it with Mother Nature to plant or weed or harvest it away.

Being here has also given me the space to practice presence. For a while my mind has had a way of relentlessly holding onto all the people and places and pain of the past so I've found a space to shift that to what's here and now. Of course my mind wanders, mainly to the future now, but I can always bring it back to the delicate seedling between my fingers. And I find this seed and I have some things in common... An opportunity for new life. Nurturing a delicate state of being. Absorbing the nutrients available at this current stage of growth. Not worrying about what the next stage will look like or where the roots will eventually spread or how many fruits it will bear. Just to "grow where planted"...

I enjoy the simplicity of life here. And I've realized it's nothing I can't take with me, I just had to experience it first. For example, my morning and health routines have become ridiculously straightforward. I wake up 20 minutes before leaving for the farm. In that time I meditate/stretch, throw on some clothes, use the bathroom, fill my water and go. I rarely even look in a mirror in the morning. My shower routine has eliminated shaving as well as shampooing/conditioning my hair, so my time and energy is cut down significantly. Not worrying about makeup or hair or anything, what a way to live! This may sound like I've turned into a hairy hippy beast but really not much has changed in my appearance, if anything my skin and hair is responding well to a more natural treatment and I have more time to focus on projecting genuine confidence instead of placing it solely on external appearances.

Simplicity has also been welcomed in my expenses. I have a very minimalistic financial experience here, and I am baffled by how easy it is to live so affordably. I could break down the average costs I'm paying for everything but I'll just say it's no more than $10 a day. I've made this possible by sticking to transport by bicycle or friends, cooking most of my own meals, or finding ways to do activities and eat for free. Actually all easier than it sounds, and of course it's about making connections and getting a little creative.

I receive a free breakfast every morning at the farm, and if nothing else that always makes it worth it, especially if it's dosa Friday!

Bonus that I get to take home fresh veggies too. I also began volunteering at a local school! This provides me free lunch, but so much more than that. The Thamarai school was formed by an Aurovillian ten years ago to bridge the local villages with Auroville by providing education for their children. This playgroup is for kids around 2-3.5 years old to play and learn from 9am-3pm and is intended to build a platform for them to transition into the Thamarai school system. 

And dang, are they cute. And eager to engage and play and discover and interact. Which are all things I also feel when I am with them. I love getting to know their teachers too who have all been so welcoming to me. I am fascinated by differences between the education practices here compared to the West and hope to take some insight with me (to apply to my probable future in working with children). 

As far as what's next, (okay I let myself do some future thinking/planning) I feel there may be no better time to experience my first vipassana course. This is a 10-day meditation course in complete silence and without any external distraction or stimulus. I have been recommended by multiple people to attend a center for this course in the sacred mountain city of Tiruvannalamali only a couple hours away. I applied for the March 1st start which puts me at less than a month left here at Auroville! I'm also dreaming up some travels for after this, but one thing at a time :)