My Blog's Namesake

While responding to forsythia's comment on the last post, I got to thinking about Kabir, the 15th century mystic poet from India. It amazes me that his verses have traveled through centuries, and over oceans to reach my eyes and tickle my spirit. I found the name for my blog in one of his poems. I'm going to reproduce the full poem here, for anyone who may want to read it:

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
you will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine
rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals:
not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding
around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me instantly —
you will find me in the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath.

From: The Kabir Book: Forty-Four of the Ecstatic Poems of Kabir
by Robert W. Bly (Translator)

Hello!

Hello! I'm still alive! :)

I guess I've almost starved my blog to death. For some reason I just refuse to pull the plug completely, though. I want to at least post updates on the labyrinth through its completion.

And I'd like let people know how I've been doing! Things are starting to pick up a bit. I've made a new friend who also happens to have schizophrenia. It's nice having someone who can relate to the whole mental illness piece, but just as importantly I appreciate having someone to hang out with and go out to Indian and Thai restaurants with.

I also FINALLY got out and put in a volunteer application. Since the library never really panned out, I decided to volunteer at the local Audubon Society. It is an environmental organization that organizes nature programs for children, plans outings for adults, maintains walking trails, puts on seasonal events, and so on.

I talked to the volunteer coordinator, and she sounded excited to have a new volunteer. I'm going to be working in the visitor center, greeting guests and taking phone calls. I may even help write some press releases.

I'm pretty excited about it, and am relieved that I finally got out and took a step forward.

Anyway, so here are a few photos of the labyrinth, in progress:

This first one shows the perimeter of bricks that I dug into the ground.


This picture shows the brick circle filled with pebbles that form the base to walk on.

Now that the pebbles are down, I've been placing bigger rocks in the circle to create the paths of the labyrinth. I have a lot of it done, but I think I'll wait to post a photo.

I want to thank all of you for still stopping by from time to time. Maybe I should have just closed my blog when I stopped doing it daily, but personally, whenever a blog I read decides to call it quits, I always long for that occasional post to just know how that person is doing. So I guess that's what this blog has become for now.

Take care, everyone!