Being forced to go to Lakshmi prayer today.
Nobody has ever forced me to do anything God-related in my life. I don’t like this feeling. It makes me feel negative towards going, when I probably would have gone on my own had the warden invited me last night. But instead, she stormed into our room and turned on the lights yelling, “HELLO HELLO LAKSHMI PRAYER 8:15 HELLO!” So, I’m going so she doesn’t come back into our room because we’re not there. And I’m going to be respectful, curious, and I’m going because I’m in India and it’s a new experience.
But seriously, I’m never doing that to my kids. Spirituality is for self-discovery. It can’t be forced upon you.
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8:48AM Update:
Sometimes we all need a little push though. That was one of the most authentic and heart-opening experiences I’ve had in Chennai, and I’m leaving a week from now. Such a simple and short ceremony brings me so much more joy inside than a day of tourism and shopping. I’m absolutely glad that I went. Sitting in a room bordered by widowed senior citizens and filled with orphans, I found myself swelled with nostalgia. I felt a wave of sadness and then joy that I was there and that they were so welcoming and happy to have me there. I offered my seat to one of the latecoming elders, who rejected my offer and took a seat in the hallway, out of view from the shrine. After songs were sang and chants had been spoken, one of the girls from the orphanage, Sarenya, came around with a tray with fire on it and everyone felt the heat from the flames and then touched their eyes. I did the same. She donned my third eye with a red mark and continued around the room. I like this, I thought. I’m really going to miss this.
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