A couple days ago, I got an email from one of the members of the Vihara Community of which I became a share holder this last year. He was informing us of his decision to withdraw from the enterprise. His reason being our shortage of shareholders as we neared the point where we would finalise our purchase of the magnificent property and infrastructure that was our first goal as a group. As things stood, we would need loans from some of the members in order to finance this first step. That would leave us in a position lacking reserves in money and energy to launch the community. What would be minor difficulties in other circumstances could develop easily into major difficulties with all of the attendant stress added. We had been hoping to recruit additional shareholders in the next few months but our efforts to date had met with limited success. So, the decision by this share holder, soon followed by a second, led to the rest of us realising that this particular venture was coming to an end.

I had been excited by the possible manifestation of the vision set forth in the Vihara Manifesto. It fit me very well. Though I made plans and took actions in that direction, I was aware of the possibility of the above occurring. Life is bigger than me and I have to move with what is.

Did I feel disappointment? Yes, I did. After all, he was sitting there on the floor next to my right leg; his squat rounded cubical body with the huge mouth and woeful eyes squirming in anticipation of my giving him the energy to turn into a screaming monster. I gave him a glance and turned away. I had better things to do. (Don’t know where he is now. When I ignore him, he just pisses off.)

The first cab off the rank for my attention was the feeling of immense gratefulness for the friends who have accompanied me on this part of the journey. It’s been a joy to get to know new friends and better know previous acquaintances. After that, I turned to reflect on the recent journey. What steps had we taken that helped the cause and what could we have done differently to our advantage? I let the options surface and absorbed the insights for future opportunities.

Life can take sudden turns. That’s just the wonder of it. Now, life is overwhelming me with possibilities. I am so fortunate: I’ve got a comfy bed to sleep in. A lovely house to live in located in a sub tropical paradise. Good food available. I’m healthy. There’s my Tai Chi and Bagua. My flute is always at hand to stretch the heavens. To top it all off, I have somehow learned the art of letting go into a meditative state. What more could one ask?

So, dear friends, I wonder what experience is awaiting me on the next page of this book.