One of these poems I wrote after having been here only a month. The other, I wrote this morning. In the space between the two poems, I have found acres of grace

to travel is worth any cost or sacrifice.

Om Namah Shivaya, meaning, I honor the divinity that resides within me.

I am burdened with what the Buddhists call the 'monkey mind' -- the thoughts that swing from limb to limb, stopping only to scratch themselves, spit and howl.

It is merely this world that is chaotic, bringing changes to us all that nobody could have anticipated.

The resting place of the mind is the heart.

I was a veritable Johnny Appleseed of grand expectations, and all I reaped for my trouble was a harvest of bitter fruit.