Grass is Greener Syndrome... (Nov 20)

Our last day in Dharmasala. We woke up, had a snack and headed to yoga. Another sunny day (actually, we haven't seen a single drop of rain since we arrived).

Another Australian girl was joining us for class today (the Scottish girl I'd been practicing with lately was too hung over today). We were progressing through our sun salutations when Brad jumped back and his back jumped out of alignment. He twisted this way and that... he tried everything he could but it was out and was not going back in. He left in the middle of class and hobbled back to the hotel to take some relaxants and lay down.

I continued on and finished class, made dinner plans with Sivadas and Joanna and headed back to check on Brad. He was crumpled on the bed, could barely stand and when he was walking we were going no where fast. (Note.. no more jump backs for Brad!) We spent a quiet afternoon, had some lunch and picked up our train tickets, packed and pretty much just tried to get Brad's back to relax and shift back into place (maybe I should go to chiropractic college?) We are catching the bus at 5 am tomorrow and the bus rides are pretty short on shock absorbers.

Just before dinner, we headed to check email and call some hotels in Amaritsar. Its generally easiest if you know your destination when you arrive into a town, otherwise you could end up at some hotel that the rickshaw driver "knows" and your hotel bill is jacked up by their commission (better known as finder's fee).

We met Sivadas and Joanna on the street and strolled down for one more meal at Taste of India with Mrs Nishi's excellent cooking (the kofta is outstanding!)

Sivadas is originally from Kerala (in the south) and he and Joanna will be heading down at the end of the month to spend Christmas with his family and to escape the winter. Sivadas had an interesting wisdom about him. I'm not sure how old he is but, from his various exploits and hints that I picked up along the way I'd put him around my age. He had no five year plan - he was just going with the flow - but he'd already done a great deal. He had been a trapeze artist in the circus, run a restaurant, taught yoga, taught ayurvedic massage, and on and on. One of his thoughts on yoga - if you use a block, you'll always have to carry a block. Instead, do what you can and let your body find its awareness and placement. It will find its way to the pose.

We also discussed food (we were eating dinner... food is a great topic!) We had also noticed that the more expensive the food, the worse it seemed to be for you. If you keep it simple, your pocketbook and body will be much happier. Something funny he told us was that India was a large exporter of beef. It seems strange, since you can't get beef in most of India (although he said you could in Goa due to the large number of Christians who live there). He also said that in some places, when you were ordering lamb or mutton, you were actually getting beef. I guess the cow isn't as sacred as it used to be.

Having done so many things and Joanna being a traveler herself, we started talking about, what I would describe as "the grass is greener syndrome". People tend to crave and gravitate to stability, except when they have it. People who are on the road all the time just want to stay home and people with a comfortable home and family life just want out... adventure. They usually aren't sure where or what, they just want out. Maybe it's just a lack of contentment or maybe not realizing or appreciating what they have or maybe by practicing contentment you will realize what you have... or maybe I'm babbling and have lost my point somewhere... sorry, I've been reading too much Dalai Lama, The Way to a Meaningful Life.

After dinner and great conversation we headed back to finish packing, settle the hotel bill and head to bed. Brad's back is still out but we'll keep up the stretching, muscle relaxants and see how we do.