Saturday, November 20, 2010

Nothing Satisfies The Ego For Long

Eckhart Tolle points out that "nothing satisfies the ego for long." Isn't that the truth? I remember buying a Mercedes convertible in my younger crazy days. Boy, did I love that car! For about three months.

I've settled into living in Nha Trang like an ordinary person. I teach, I have a boss. I drive a motor bike like most of the people here, not a car like the rich. I do love Viet Nam. Most people are caring, playful, intelligent, and honest. The culture is quite different from America and much simpler. People enjoy ordinary things. They laugh and sing more. A mental health counselor could not make a living here.

"Nothing satisfies the ego for long." I found myself thinking this week..."well, the excitement of living in Nha Trang has certainly worn off." Life has become just...life, again. Am I happy or sad or bored or what? What do I feel now? Because I take time to meditate and reflect on the lessons I have learned over the years I realized that this is just what life is. We don't get to be excited all the time.

And then I thought about why I'm here. I've always felt I was needed here. I was needed to teach English and be a good person. At that point, I did not feel excited, but I certainly felt happy, and peaceful, and content. I supposed to be here. I'm being useful. Isn't that enough? Yes, it is.

Odds and Ends:

It's been raining like crazy still. No hot water because no sun. They say this is the worst it's been in 50 years.

I walked down to my kitchen one rainy afternoon and found two women sleeping there:
One Saturday in between all the rain I took a little ride out of the city along the coast and came across this waterfall on the side of the road:

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Good News Bad News

Well, I've been here two months now. One more month and I come home for Christmas.

The good news is that the rainy season should be ending soon. The bad news is that the dry, i.e. hot and sunny, season begins.

The good news is that now I'll have all the hot water I can use. The bad news is that I don't need any.

The good news is that I love living here. The bad news is that I love living in Westerly, too.

The good news is that they are paying me to teach. The bad news is that I make about $45 a week.

The good news is that my house overlooks the ocean. The bad news is that it overlooks a noisy highway.

The good news is that I lost 5 pounds last week. The bad news is that I had food poisoning last week.

The good news is that I ate a lot of raw food last week. The bad news is that I had one raw food too many last week.

The good news is that I blocked up the hole that the rat was getting into the house through. The bad news is that he found another way in.

The good news is that I'm really studying Vietnamese a lot. The bad news is that I can't even ask for grilled chicken and be understood yet.

And lastly, the good news is that I just washed all the floors in my house. The bad news is that they will need to be washed again tomorrow!