Digging to China

My greatest dream when I was young, was to dig to China. I think it was prompted by a story book, but never the less I started digging. After half a metre of dirt scrapping, the top soil gave way to dense clay and rocks. Finally when I was 18, I flew to the mystical-oriental land which had coloured my imagination. Travelling to China was probably one of my lifes most illumining experiences, and I will always be greatful to China for playing host to our unique Christmas trip.

It was the first time I'd travelled without my sister, and I was feeling both anxious and excited as we descended into Sanya, a tropical city in the South of China, the place where Sri Chinmoy and 200 of his students were to be staying for the next two weeks. On arrival, I was taken back by the beauty of the landscape - the earth jutting up into high peaks piercing through layers of mist. It seemed as if every last patch of land was being utilized or cultivated in this vast expanse of land.

It didn't take long for the days to settle into a basic structure; Sri Chinmoy offered prayers and meditations in the morning, this went until until lunchtime, and in the evening there would be both funny and soulful plays. In between times I spent a lot of time exploring. Coming from New Zealand, a country inhabited by people for only the last 200 years, I was fascinated with the depth of culture, richness if history and the diversity of people. I visited temples, markets, practiced plays and memorised some of Sri Chinmoys latest compositions. Time gathered speed and the fortnight quickly flew by. We soon shifted to Xiamen, an industrial city, where everywhere you looked, skyscappers were being created and alleyways bustled with people shifting about. I had the opportunity while I was there to ask Sri Chinmoy a question. I asked him if while he was sleeping, did he have dreams? What I can remember of his answer was that he did when he was a child, but now he is still conscious when he is resting, and has visions rather than dreams.

One other thing which stood out for me was that I made friends Suprabha, the head of the Sri Chinmoy Centre in Washington D.C. She runs ultramarathons, and in a few months she will be running the 3,100 mile race (for the 9th time I think!). Hopefully I might be helping her this year with the race. All in all it was an excellent trip.