Out of the Ashes

Have you ever experienced some random dog or cat that always seems to come and be at your door begging for food or attention? I can remember as a child my mom being angry at some alley cat for always coming to our door and urinating in her gardens. She used to yell and scream and try to scare the cat away, but nothing ever seemed to work. Here in Indi@ we have our share of street dogs and homeless cats but it’s usually the monkeys that I am trying to scare away from my door.  Here many people be-friend the wild animals, even the monkeys, feeding them and hoping to appease the “god” in them.  You can assume they keep coming back for more. Free hand-outs are always a welcomed thing. The past few weeks a young man, Pankaj, who used to be our neighbor has  also been seemingly always at the door. Unlike the animals he isn’t begging for food or attention, but he  is seemingly always at the door and wanting a place to belong. He returned to our city af...

*This was an old post from October 2018. I forgot to post then* The prison cell of a hospital room is one in which I have spent too much time this month, but it none the less has been a classroom to teach and open my eyes. From our little hospital window, I can gaze down to the army gardens below. In comparison with most of India,  the view I have is one of natural beauty, cleanliness, straight lines, and green beauty. Little groomed bushes pave a path through the gardens below for the privileged members to walk. The general public is not allowed in.  Everything looks pristine and as it “should be”. The funny thing is I rarely have seen anything in India look like this. It’s like I can gaze down at a little piece of heaven on earth and just imagine what India could or should be like apart from the pollution and trash that mares it’s beauty on a normal basis.  Oh how I want to leave this little prison cell of a hospital room and go walk in those gardens. It’s...