To Henny about Chandi shortcut

[Guest guest]

Henny wrote:

thank you very much for your suggestions. I am very embarassed now by

my moaning about the Chandi (part of it showing off and part sheer

terror caused by the whole experience and the thought of ever having

to do it again),

Dearest henny ~ methinks you are being a bit hard on yourself. Of all

the people in this group, I am surely the least developed or

practiced or whatever noun one would use to describe my sorry state.

But early on Nanda taught me an important lesson ~ not to compare

myself with others but be happy for their accomplishments, do what I

can and be glad for that, and just keep on keeping on, as the

folksong says. To me, it feels a bit like being a little girl. I'm

trying; I'm really really trying (to do whatever) and then I fall in

the dirt and my pretty dress is full of dirt, and my hair is all

rumpled.

 

Once, when I was in a play of the Wizard of Oz as a child (I was

merely a munchkin), when I opened my mouth to sing "the wicked witch

is dead," a fly flew into my mouth. I was horrified. There was

nothing I could do but swallow the fly and keep on singing. This sort

of reminds me of that a little. We try so hard. And then we think we

aren't doing enough, and the fly goes down our throats or the dirt

makes a mess of us, and then we are sitting there feeling really

badly about ourselves. But that is just Too Much and Too Little

showing up, and we don't need those two getting in the mix. So we do

our best to brush ourselves off, curtsy nicely to the audience (in

the case of puja, all the Gods and Goddesses we've invited to the

party) and just keep going. We are so loved ... every hair on our

heads, ever cell in our bodies. It is amazing to be loved like that.

Jai Maa!!!!! , Jai Swamiji!!!!!! , Jai everyone else for all that

you do!!!!!