We have made ourselves too much at home in this illusion.
We must wake again to fuller consciousness.
Nagna says:
The magic carpet we have woven is wearing very thin.
हमने इस भ्रम में घर पर खुद को बहुत अधिक बना लिया है।
हमें पूर्ण चेतना के लिए फिर से जागना होगा।
नग्न कहते हैं:
हमारी जादुई कालीन बहुत पतली होती जा रही है।
Text and image Copyright © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Nagna Chidaananda.
The path to peace goes not through illusion.
The path to peace goes only through consciousness.
Nagna says:
The body cannot give what it does not have.
शांति का मार्ग भ्रम से नहीं गुजरता।
शांति का मार्ग चेतना से ही जाता है।
नग्न कहते हैं:
शरीर वह नहीं दे सकता जो उसके पास नहीं है।
Text and image Copyright © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Nagna Chidaananda.
Today, November 1 2020, we are passing the milestone of 97,000 visits to this poetry/writing/photography blog. We were at 96.5K just six days ago. These 500 visits came from 38 different countries. See the following two graphics for a partial listing of the countries from which visits came in the last seven days:
As I said, it's a partial listing, and 19 countries that were sources of only single visits are not shown. I am pleased that visits to the blog are coming from such a diversity of countries.
We are steering a steady course. The Upanishad poem-series now has 56 parts, and the goal is 108. I am never able to predict what will be in the blog, because the Muse decides that. For now, she seems to be saying, "steady as she goes."
As always, thanks to you all for your continued interest and enthusiasm.
I didn't really say anything about the "high anxiety," did I? Maybe next time. We are too close to it right now.
Text and images Copyright © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler.
The hermit lights his own way,
and that of others.
Nagna says:
By that light, he sees far.
एकांतवासी ने अपने तरीके से रोशनी डाली,
और वह दूसरों की।
नग्न कहते हैं:
उस प्रकाश से, वह दूर तक देखता है।
Text and image Copyright © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Nagna Chidaananda.
We spend a lot of time worrying about the future,
not realizing that it is just the farther reaches of the present.
Nagna says:
The future is here, and we can change it now.
हम भविष्य के बारे में चिंता करने में बहुत समय बिताते हैं,
यह एहसास नहीं है कि यह सिर्फ वर्तमान की पहुंच है।
नग्न कहते हैं:
भविष्य यहां है, और हम इसे अभी बदल सकते हैं।
Text and image Copyright © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Nagna Chidaananda.
The above photo was shot in a hotel bathroom in Brazil on Nov. 28 2017. I ran across it recently, and my reaction was, "I want that lean body again!" How, when, and where was it lost? And why?
When the picture was taken, we had been living in Uruguay for almost five years. That's a clue. When we first moved to Uruguay, in early 2013, people told us stories about the significant amounts of weight they had lost after moving there, without dieting. People there eat less prepared food, and Uruguayan grass-fed beef, which contains no growth hormones, is world-famous. In the US, Sandy and I had been afraid to eat red meat, and ate mostly chicken and fish instead. God only knows what additives were in the food in the US. When we lived there, in comparison to this picture, I looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.
Sandy and I moved back to the US in late April, 2019. We've been back here for approximately a year and a half. I don't look like the Dough Boy yet, but I have a roll of fat around my waist that I don't like (not only due to vanity, but because excess fat is not consistent with optimum health). When, and why, did the change take place? The photo below provides a clue.
This shot dates from May 15 2019. Considering that I was a year and a half older than in the Brazil picture, I'd say that my body was still just about as lean. At the time, we were living in a rental house right next to a canal on the Gulf, here in Florida. We had been back in the US for less than a month. Life on the canal was very nice, especially in May. At around 4:00 in the afternoon, we would sit under the ramada as the breeze from the Gulf was coming up, and have wine, cheese, and crackers. We no longer have a ramada, but snacking at around 4 p.m. became a habit.
Another factor, of course, is exercise. In Uruguay, my main exercise was walking our dog, Betty. At the time of the Brazil picture, Betty was four years old and liked to take really long walks. Betty is now seven, and her walks are quite a bit shorter, especially in the Florida heat. In Uruguay we had a swimming pool, so I had the exercise of swimming and cleaning the pool. We don't have that here. I also had a pull-up exercise bar, which I don't have here. The result of more food additives, more between-meals snacks, and less exercise can be seen in the photo below.
This photo, taken on Oct. 25 2020, shows what a year and a half of life in the US has done. I can't do anything about the lack of a pool (and wouldn't want to have to clean it, anyway), or make Betty take longer walks. Maybe I can get her to take two walks, one in the morning and one in the evening. I think she'd like that. I'm going to cut down on the beer and crackers in the afternoon. And I'm going to get myself a new exercise bar.
Text and images Copyright © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler.
The future is already here,
the result of our actions today,
but many don't want to see it.
Nagna says:
I'm not sure that I want to see the future, either.
भविष्य पहले से ही यहाँ है,
यह आज हमारे कार्यों का परिणाम है,
लेकिन कई इसे देखना नहीं चाहते हैं।
नग्न कहते हैं:
मुझे यकीन नहीं है कि मैं भविष्य देखना चाहता हूं।
Text and image Copyright © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Nagna Chidaananda.
