I noticed when I was working at the gas station that it was easy to fall away from my practice. I couldn’t see the difference on a day-to-day basis. Even when I observed myself over weeks, everything seemed fine. But after months turned into half a year, I could definitely reflect back and see the change.

So, how do I work in a fast-paced environment and not lose the quietude of my mind? Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for my employer, I care about doing a good job. But if I do a good job, it seems I have to push the limits of my mind’s ability to stay calm.

Anyway, the Universe/Karma/God/[fill in the blank] decided it was time for me to take a break, and due to documentation issues, I had to quit working entirely.

The positive experience from the hospice volunteering program (in the previous post, I only described the negative aspects) allowed me to get closer to my true inspiration, which is working with trauma. Next week, I am starting to volunteer at a foster care and adoption agency. It is not going to be easy, but after my spiritual experience, I realized that there are only two ways to make this Earth a better place: 1) healing myself and 2) being kind to children. Murderers, rapists, molesters, and other criminal offenders are all born out of the pain of an innocent child. If I can share some light and kindness with at least one child, my life will not be in vain.

Before beginning the new leg of my journey, I took this free time as an opportunity to have a solitary retreat on a cliff overlooking the Osage River. I had dozens of vultures flying over my red tent, hoping for a good feast. Most of my practice was dedicated to laying down meditation. In my experience, it is the easiest way to lose the body and explore the vast realms of consciousness and space.

I also made a short video about my stay, enjoy https://youtu.be/D49Sd802IZk