3 January 2007Day three of Bob's 1000-day-cum-3-year retreat... and things are a little rough around the edges as only one would expect when starting on an epic journey ...
Despite some extensive preparatory training, early rising, trail runs and test periods... specifically desginged to get Bob 'fit' for his 1000-day-cum-3-year spritiual training retreat... the start has not been an easy one. A lot of this has to do with emotional ties, saying good bye to friends, students and loved ones, and the sudden realisation of the magnitude of the journey... Reality overtook nervousness (described by Bob as getting ready to catch a plane) and Day One was faced bravely and proceeded well, as those at Hombu (Bob, Shaz and PAWS) adjusted to the new regime of early rising, three meditation sessions a day, two fairly plain meals a day, a 90 minute gardening session - and lots of training and research of various sorts. Day Two got off to a faltering start - we forgot to set the alarm and woke at 5am, an hour behind schedule. It set the tone for a reasonably emotionally strained day. When asked, Bob's says he's doing fine, but he has entered the retreat with an ear infection, and the first lot of ear drops do not seem to be fixing the problem. Day Three - we set the alarm - 03h50 this time! The day has progressed well, but the schedule is very demanding and tiring, making to difficlt to concentrate and work effectively into the afternoon. However, the routine is starting to feel a bit more like a routine rather than a change, and I would imagine will run progressively more smoothly from now, up until the start of classes on 10th January - although the routine will be disrupted on Friday when Bob goes to the Japanese embassy in Pretoria to apply for his visa.
All in all it has been a steep learning curve all round... but the mind-frame is somewhere between positive and determined.
Shaz says: The hardest part for me has been to let go - and let Bob go on retreat. On Day One I spent a lot of energy trying to make sure things went according to plan (after all Bob has threatened on more than one occasion to turn this into a 1000-day gong - and those who know how many times he has restarted a 100-day gong will understand my concern...!!) - until I realised: a. It's Bob's retreat and he's responsible for its success or failure ... and b. It's not physically possible to run the centre and earn money and try to do the retreat on Bob's behalf!! So I'm working on letting go, letting Bob (apologies to Thomas Crum and his book Journey to Centre)... haven't succeeded in all areas yet - but awareness is half way to the solution! The second difficulty has been the dichotomy of needs - in needing to deal with the concept of 1000-days in small bite size chunks (like one day at a time) and simultaneously needing to plan ahead for the Centre... Bob says: "Day Two was the hardest..." and reports that his ear is now constantly sore, hot and itchy. Behind the scenes: I've been out to get ear drops number 2 - and am hoping that this does the trick. I've also been getting a long list of instructions (was this part of the support agreement??) to get letters from the bank and a myriad of paper work ready for Bob's visa application, which - as I'm sure you can imagine - is twice as dificult than if Bob was able to do them himself. Making slow but steady progress, and Bob will be going up on Friday (cashed in some airmiles to book a flight [hope the ear is better by then!]) to hand in the application. Since it has to be done in person there's no doing that on Bob's behalf. Over 'n Out: Our thanks to so many people for their kind words, well wishes and positive thoughts and continued support. By the time classes start on the 10th January Bob will be 100th of the way down this journey's path - or viewed alternatively, will have completed 1% of 1000 days.
Best wishes Shaz |
