Today!

It is fast approaching, my flight for Mumbai.  And while I still have a million things to do to wrap things up at the office and at home I couldn't help but take a few minutes to gather my thoughts.  I have never been to India before, much less any sense of remote areas unless you call the mountain peaks of Colorado or the middle of the rainforests in Hawaii remote.  But remote in the true sense that even in a city of nearly 17 million people and half of them living in slums, I will be so out of my element or near anything that resembles the familiar comforts of my home and country.  Nevertheless, the excitement can hardly be contained!

I am realizing that my post at best is going to be quite naive as I won't be speaking from experience.  But this will be a good vantage point with which to view from after my trip.   I have so many questions...

The biggest question that I have is what is the impact of culture in the slums on health.  The food and lifestyles are different. Does this make for different TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) patterns and diagnosis?  Kidney deficiency, for example is Kidney deficiency where ever you go but will I see more of a lack of Kidney Jing or more prevalance of Kidney yang or yin?  From what I have gathered in the articles that I have read from the internet search, lifestyles in the slums are way more physically demanding than what we are accustomed to here in the U.S.  Does that present for quicker burning of the Kidney Jing?

Food is limited to what one can afford.  What I have observed here in the U.S. is that people can still have food here even in the most destitute of situations.  But not only that, very often the food that is chosen is cheap processed food such as a box of macaroni and cheese that can be gotten for less than a dollar, rather than a head of broccoli for a little over a dollar that will have much more nutrition.  Is the diet in India simpler, such as a bowl of rice?  Often times I've wondered in other countries even with the scarcity of food if they are still eating better because the food is more wholesome.  And if that is the case, are some diseases less prevalant, like diabetes.  Will we see less damp/phlegm presentations?

And with Lonny's voice in the back of my head, Spirit is always first.  I hope that I can approach these people through the eyes of my spirit.  To be humbled and changed in ways that will help me to serve others better.  How can I help these people in ways that make for lasting change? Already, I am well aware that my two weeks there will be very insufficient to even touch the surface...

I am acutely aware of how fortunate I am living in the conditions that we have. While my income is certainly not in the six figures, I am so far from being destitute.  I often realize how appalling it is how much I take for granted.  If electricity is cut off for more than an hour, my life is halted and complaints are reported.  Often times I drive a car two blocks to the nearest store because the weather is too cold.  I take it for granted that there will be food on the table three times a day and that my children will never have to starve.  I have multiple computers in my house and how impatient I've become if the screen take longer than a second to load.  And I never give it another thought that I have running water to drink, a toilet to use and water for an automatic washing machine for clothes.  While I am not advocating a lifestyle that is different from what I have, I am doing what I can to be grateful for what I have.  And that is why this project means a lot to me.  I honestly have nothing to complain about and always have something to give. 

There are two clinics in the city of Mumbai and two in the village in the country called Tamil Nadu. Here is a youtube video that Walter Fischer had posted of the newest clinic.  I was struck by how close the clinic is to the train tracks.  Literally when you step out the front door, there are tracks!  And I love the last shot of the goat rambling up to the door. Now, every time I look at a goat I'll be thinking of you, Herman, raising your goats on your farm.  Even with the state of the surroundings, people are smiling. 

I have many more questions and I hope to be able to share them with you with each passing day.  There is something really incredible about leaving my sense of self behind and taking that leap into the unknown.  And what good is my existence if it is not there to serve the greater good of human kind.  As my plane approaches this country I will be greatly inspired by all those who have gone before me.  And my studies of the Theosophical Society (I will be forever grateful to you, Tim for having made me a part of your family!) will not have gone to waste.  The people I love and turn to often for sustenance, Mother Theresa, Dalai Lama, Krishnamurti, Gandhi, Maharishi, Aurobindo, and even Madame Blavatsky, just to name a few, all have roots in this great country!

That's all for now as I have to finish preparations!  Love to you all and I'll see you from the other side!