Field of the Gods

Leaving

Well, Friday was my last day at Windhorse, where I've been working since October 2003 and marks the beginning of the end of my time in Cambridge. The day before I left, there was the traditional Windhorse send-off celebration at the 3.15 tea-break with cake and my brothers in my team rejoicing in my merits. For those of you who don't know, "rejoicing in merits" is a really beautiful Buddhist practice where people take a few minutes each to talk about the qualities in a person that they most appreciate. Having your merits rejoiced in is delightful, moving and uncomfortable all at once. You feel very exposed and vulnerable, but very appreciated and cared for at the same time.

I don't really feel sad about leaving Windhorse. I've really enjoyed and benefitted from the time I've spent working there, but it feels like the right time to move on and I'm very much looking forward to the next stage of my life in Oslo. Also, the main thing I've valued about Windhorse is the friendships I've made there, and I'm not leaving those friendships behind. I'll see my friends there less often, but I will still see them and stay in contact with them and hold them in my heart.

But there are other aspects of Windhorse that I've benefitted from that I will be leaving behind. I think that just spending so much time around other Buddhists, people who are striving to live their lives in accordance with spiritual values, constantly to challenge themselves and grow, has had an effect on me and helped me grow and mature in the time I've worked there. The wonderful thing about the set-up in Cambridge is its completeness - you live and work and socialise with people who share your values and aspirations. No doubt that sounds insular and cultish to some, but if you want to prioritise spiritual practice, it's a very effective way of doing it.

My life in Oslo will be quite different, and I will be spending a much greater proportion of my life not in direct contact with the Sangha (Buddhist community.) I will be living with a Buddhist friend who's also preparing for ordination though, which I'm very pleased about! I'm confident that I'll be able to continue to grow and mature as a person, and as a Buddhist practitioner, in the circumstances I'm moving to, but it is going to mean a significant reduction in my "support network", which it's important for me to be aware of.

My CELTA (Cambridge Certificate of English Language Teaching for Adults) course starts a week tomorrow, and so I'm going to be spending next week doing some reading and studying in preparation. I'm very much looking forward to the course - it's going to be pretty intensive and challenging, but I think it's the kind of challenge that's well within my capabilities and that will bring out the best in me. I think that because it's so intensive, the time's going to go by pretty quickly, and it'll soon be days rather than weeks until my one-way flight on August 3rd!

There are lots of niggling, and often expensive practicalities associated with emigrating and with starting a new career - things I have to do before I go, and things I have to do when I get there - so I'm trying to keep it all in mind without getting overwhelmed by it all. The main thing I have to arrange before I leave is getting all my stuff packed up and shipped to Oslo (which is looking like it's going to cost about £300, eek!) I've also been looking into getting a website set up to advertise my services as a language teacher to the good citizens of Oslo, and it turns out that ain't going to be cheap either. Oh well, what are overdrafts for, eh ;)

(As you might have guessed, I'm a little anxious about all this stuff, but I'm sure it'll all work out ok in the end.)

As per my last post, I very much enjoyed Thank You For Smoking and Babette's Feast, the latter of which entirely deserves its reputation as a masterpiece. I didn't go and see Down in the Valley again in the end, but I hope it's not too long before it comes out on DVD! I went to see this year's Palme d'Or winner, The Wind That Shakes The Barley today with my friend Padmavyuha. I enjoyed it as a historical drama, it's well-made but not really all that exceptional from an artistic point of view. I've seen four of Loach's films now, and his latest certainly isn't his best. (Another slightly political decision from the Cannes jury methinks.)

Ho hum, I think that'll do for now. Do leave a comment or send me an e-mail or something so I know whether anyone's reading this stuff...

Behave yourselves,

Love David x

posted by David @ 12:23 PM