Out of the Way and Into the Heart

On the Road Again. I get to the train station with my backpack and a whole journey ahead. I’ve decided to head upstate to spend the weekend at @anandaashram, a place of study and contemplation that’s been on my radar for a couple of years now. This week I spoke with the crew, organized volunteering and booked my space. Excited and nervous, unsure what to expect, I set off. At the platform, the conductor asks, “Will you be joining us?” “No, I’m headed to New York.” I reply as I adjust the straps on my backpack. The Camino taught me much about how to wear these things correctly and comfortably, though there’s still much to learn!

I see a man across the platform and I ask “Are you going to the city?” “Mmm you speak Spanish?” He asks as he removes his sunglasses. “Si, si,” I reply. A huge smile crosses his face and his eyes begin to sparkle. We talk ceaselessly of travel, Colombia, salsa dancing, he’s on his way to the city for the first time ever. I recommend places for him to go. It all flows. We board the train, a young woman across the way hears us and chimes in. “Perdón, eres de Ecuador?” “No, pero estudié allí en Quito.” “Soy de Quito!” And we add another to our conversation. A beautiful young traveler woman asks out loud “Is there an outlet here?” I had just asked myself the same question as my battery was getting low. We shuffle over to plug our phones in. I look across the train and there’s an advertisement for a healing center with reiki, yoga, acupuncture, and all things that I love. As we are getting ready to walk out into Penn Station, I ask the girl, “Are you visiting?” “No, I  go to NYU and just got back from a semester in Argentina... and I’m off to Ghana next week. I heard you all speaking Spanish. What country are you from?” “I’m from here.” “Oh wow, me too and I’m Cuban but never learned before traveling.” “Same with me.” We smile at each other and we’re off. 

I head through the crowds with my backpack and yoga mat and feel for the first time in a while that I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to. People ask me for directions, I point them in the right direction. I’m talking, sharing, asking, trusting. I get to Port Authority hoping there is a bus soon so that I get upstate within the given hours, of course these are all things I probably could have planned earlier but life just hasn’t been that way... for a while, or maybe ever. I buy my ticket and have an hour to spare. I turn around and see a familiar face. An Instagram friend and follower, fellow seeker, creative, we met once before, crossing paths in Harlem before the Camino. We walk up to each other and share a hug. We speak of our travels, of yoga, of sharing, of community. It all flows and he’s off. Now this is what it feels like to be in the vortex, the stream of life, to be allowing and receiving, to be in alignment with what it is you are here to do. All laying out before you, a red carpet, one dominos after the next. All for you, all because of you. All is you. How the universe unfolds when we get out of the way and allow ourselves to ride the wave. To move into the heart. Thankful for this guidance. Thankful to receive and allow. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.