I cannot guess what we'll discover
I'm back home. And happy to be here.
It was a crazy journey back and I arrived with a new understanding of the word tired. Udaipur turned out to be just what I wanted. I got a painting lesson and sitar lesson while I was there and left feeling centered and calm. On my last evening there I went up to Monsoon Palace and watched the sunset and felt the best clarity in my head. One thing I've learned about finding inner peace....it can be as simple as just walking up a hill and watching the sun rise or set. Those were some of my best moments.
I flew back to Mumbai and stayed there one night, in a hotel near the airport where I got my first hot shower in a month (ohhmy god best shower ever) though I felt pretty guilty about staying in such a nice place and then to make it even worse they upgraded me to a "super deluxe" room for free so i had this huge room to myself with a king sized bed and all. it was so big and comfortable that i had a hard time sleeping.
Woke up the next morning and finished writing a song, played guitar for a while to warm up and then went to the recording studio. I did 4 tracks and 5 intense hours and it all went well and I left with another CD of music. Then I went to the airport and waited around for a long time for my 4am flight. Cool thing that happened though, as I was sitting on the ground reading, and really wishing I had someone to talk to I heard someone say, "Ami?" and I looked up and there was Natasha who we met on Holi, it was like seeing an angel.
Flew out of Mumbai almost 24 hours after I woke up that morning, so tired from the emotional demands of recording and just being up so long. It was about a 5 hour flight to Hong Kong and I had a 4 hour layover with one plan in mind. I knew all along I'd have a long layover so through this trip I had this vision in my mind of going to this big buddah statue at Ngong Ping as a final experience of all of this. When I got into Hong Kong I went to the tourism desk to figure out how to do this but the woman working told me I couldn't because I didn't have enough time. I decided not to listen to the dreamcrusher.
Never ever ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something. And if I've learned anything in the past month it's to take chances.
Plus I just had to do this for myself. So I went and caught at taxi and a very cool cable bar ride up, walked straight through the little town, and up a whole lot of stairs with my backpack and guitar and made it up to this HUGE buddah statue with time to take some pictures and hang out. Made it back to the airport in plenty of time. Caught my 14 hour flight to Los Angeles and arrived here deliriously tired but so relieved.
I am very much enjoying the company of familiar faces and places and the comforts of western life. And before the appreciation for it fades and before I dive back into real life I still think a lot about India with immense gratitude for what she gave me - a month of the ashram life, a bonus month of more travel and adventure with one of the best spirits i've met, MUSIC both recorded and written, more lessons than I realize, and what I often forget about: a yoga teaching certificate. I knew all along I wasn't going to India to become a yoga teacher, though I had no clue I'd come back with all of this. I cannot guess what we'll discover. I know a lot of realization will come as I get back into my life here but i'll leave this dialogue of my India travels with a love song I wrote to her that I finished the day I left.
Karma's Best Idea
It's so hot I think I'm gonna melt away
with this traffic in my head
my heart is not sure what to say
But do your best to find you mind's quiet space
step outside from what you think is right
to really see this place
Green green eyes
and barefoot dreams
clearly in the end you're karma's best for me
clearly in the end you're made of everything
Come on and take a chance with me
throw away plans and open your hands
to learn a lesson in humilty
Feel those hungry looks and hear the dogs that cry
feel your guard go up and down
and take a moment to wonder why
Brown brown eyes
in constant dreams
clearly in the end you're karma's best for me
clearly in the end you're made of everything
Do dark eyes look searching for a better day
Is there hoping when there's no knowing
the cards other people play?
Walk past palm up on city streets
Can I give something more than money
well what's a dollar worth to me?
Dark dark eyes
and innocent dreams
clearly in the end you're karma's best for me
clearly in the end you're made of everything
I see color moving through the darker parts of you
and i'll try my best to be the change
I see light rise and fall and
thank you with every single step I take after all, after all
Sitting up here faced with a stunning view
though the things below may stir my soul
I've still seen beauty's truth
That through it all I made a list of brilliant things
that makes simply living life
the most beautiful thing
Being here
and there can be the same
clearly in the end you're karma's best idea for me
clearly in the end you're made of everything
We're a part of everything
I'm made of everything
of everything
It was a crazy journey back and I arrived with a new understanding of the word tired. Udaipur turned out to be just what I wanted. I got a painting lesson and sitar lesson while I was there and left feeling centered and calm. On my last evening there I went up to Monsoon Palace and watched the sunset and felt the best clarity in my head. One thing I've learned about finding inner peace....it can be as simple as just walking up a hill and watching the sun rise or set. Those were some of my best moments.
I flew back to Mumbai and stayed there one night, in a hotel near the airport where I got my first hot shower in a month (ohhmy god best shower ever) though I felt pretty guilty about staying in such a nice place and then to make it even worse they upgraded me to a "super deluxe" room for free so i had this huge room to myself with a king sized bed and all. it was so big and comfortable that i had a hard time sleeping.
Woke up the next morning and finished writing a song, played guitar for a while to warm up and then went to the recording studio. I did 4 tracks and 5 intense hours and it all went well and I left with another CD of music. Then I went to the airport and waited around for a long time for my 4am flight. Cool thing that happened though, as I was sitting on the ground reading, and really wishing I had someone to talk to I heard someone say, "Ami?" and I looked up and there was Natasha who we met on Holi, it was like seeing an angel.
Flew out of Mumbai almost 24 hours after I woke up that morning, so tired from the emotional demands of recording and just being up so long. It was about a 5 hour flight to Hong Kong and I had a 4 hour layover with one plan in mind. I knew all along I'd have a long layover so through this trip I had this vision in my mind of going to this big buddah statue at Ngong Ping as a final experience of all of this. When I got into Hong Kong I went to the tourism desk to figure out how to do this but the woman working told me I couldn't because I didn't have enough time. I decided not to listen to the dreamcrusher.
Never ever ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something. And if I've learned anything in the past month it's to take chances.
Plus I just had to do this for myself. So I went and caught at taxi and a very cool cable bar ride up, walked straight through the little town, and up a whole lot of stairs with my backpack and guitar and made it up to this HUGE buddah statue with time to take some pictures and hang out. Made it back to the airport in plenty of time. Caught my 14 hour flight to Los Angeles and arrived here deliriously tired but so relieved.
I am very much enjoying the company of familiar faces and places and the comforts of western life. And before the appreciation for it fades and before I dive back into real life I still think a lot about India with immense gratitude for what she gave me - a month of the ashram life, a bonus month of more travel and adventure with one of the best spirits i've met, MUSIC both recorded and written, more lessons than I realize, and what I often forget about: a yoga teaching certificate. I knew all along I wasn't going to India to become a yoga teacher, though I had no clue I'd come back with all of this. I cannot guess what we'll discover. I know a lot of realization will come as I get back into my life here but i'll leave this dialogue of my India travels with a love song I wrote to her that I finished the day I left.
Karma's Best Idea
It's so hot I think I'm gonna melt away
with this traffic in my head
my heart is not sure what to say
But do your best to find you mind's quiet space
step outside from what you think is right
to really see this place
Green green eyes
and barefoot dreams
clearly in the end you're karma's best for me
clearly in the end you're made of everything
Come on and take a chance with me
throw away plans and open your hands
to learn a lesson in humilty
Feel those hungry looks and hear the dogs that cry
feel your guard go up and down
and take a moment to wonder why
Brown brown eyes
in constant dreams
clearly in the end you're karma's best for me
clearly in the end you're made of everything
Do dark eyes look searching for a better day
Is there hoping when there's no knowing
the cards other people play?
Walk past palm up on city streets
Can I give something more than money
well what's a dollar worth to me?
Dark dark eyes
and innocent dreams
clearly in the end you're karma's best for me
clearly in the end you're made of everything
I see color moving through the darker parts of you
and i'll try my best to be the change
I see light rise and fall and
thank you with every single step I take after all, after all
Sitting up here faced with a stunning view
though the things below may stir my soul
I've still seen beauty's truth
That through it all I made a list of brilliant things
that makes simply living life
the most beautiful thing
Being here
and there can be the same
clearly in the end you're karma's best idea for me
clearly in the end you're made of everything
We're a part of everything
I'm made of everything
of everything