Harvest Time
Transcending wins and failures.
I spent the Summer immersed in The Bhagavad Gita after receiving an invitation from my Guru to develop a course with Him on the subject. We delivered it earlier this month. Word on the street is that it’s an excellent course. I had fun developing it and got to spend time with my Teacher who was brilliant as always, and I feel certain that the community will benefit from hearing this knowledge.
Win? Well, don’t get crazy about assigning value because the following is also true.
I was so caught up in the magic of the Gita and serving the need of the time with my special skill set that I “failed” to properly promote the retreat in Italy that I’ve been planning for over a year! The whole truth be told, I’ve been talking about “La Dolce Veda” in my book club since 2021.
Fail? Now, wait a minute.
The people who are signed up for “La Dolce Veda” are absolutely glorious! The most fun, smart, playful, curious, knowledgeable, really I could go on and on about them.
Win? Hold yer horses.
Is my retreat half full or half empty? Well, with room for 14, and 6 empty beds, you can be my guest to decide whether the class as it were is almost half empty or half full.
Fail? Don’t be too hasty.
No matter what, I’m going to be spending a week in a gorgeous Villa in Tuscany visiting The Museum of Sacred Art where the most exquisite paintings of scenes from The Mahabharata are on display, and the artist himself, Italian painter Giampaolo Tomassetti, has agreed to meet with us and discuss his time in India studying the 5th Veda. We have our own private chef and day trips planned to Florence and Cinque Terre.
Total win, right?
You see what’s happening here? We can be yanked in opposite directions when we allow ourselves to assign these oversimplified values to whatever we have going on.
Harvest Time
As we enter Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, it could be tempting to view our yearlong efforts in terms of harvest.
Did our diligent actions reap a quantifiable bounty?
Are the fruits of our actions represented in barrels and barrels of figurative apples?
Was it a good year or a bad year?
A strong harvest or a weak harvest?
Do all the “wins” outweigh the “failures”?
Transcend the Opposites
When we let go the concept of measuring success by wins vs failures, what we’re left with are opportunities. Forward momentum is all that’s happening here. The opportunity is to water the roots and whatever fruits come, we share and enjoy and then continue to water the roots. Even one lone orange has about ten segments. We share what we’ve got, have a little taste, and then move forward.
We have an opportunity to enjoy natural progression without suffering.
The suffering comes from expecting the crop to be overflowing and then feeling surprised or disappointed when it’s not.
The suffering comes from attaching self worth to the outcome of our actions.
In my case, suffering could come from beating myself up for neglecting one project in favor of another.
Gita for the Win?
Any remorse I might feel from neglecting to promote my beautiful one-of-a-kind retreat is dissipated by the lessons I’ve learned from studying the Gita all Summer.
Ironic? Nature is playing with me.
Krishna, after singing the famous verse about being without the three gunas, says to Arjuna to be free from pairs of opposites, free from duality. He is, of course, talking to us through Arjuna.
Then Krishna says the following:
You surely have the right to do your karma (action), not to its fruit, at any time; the fruit of karma should not become your motive, nor be attached to sloth.
Steadfast in yoga, do your dharma, renouncing attachment, Dhananjaya; success and failure becoming the same: that equanimity is called yoga.
Aha! So, the fruits of the actions are not the motivation. I innocently did my dharma, answering the invitation to serve my Master and this community. I didn’t neglect my retreat out of sloth, but rather, placed my attention where the greater need resided. Now, Part 1 of the Gita course is complete and whatever happens, happens, as they say.
When we practice yoking our individuality to Universality, there’s no more concern for any opposites, only innocent momentum. What’s the next step forward in which I can put my unique sequence of individuality in contact with the greatest need of the time?
That’s Yoga. Simple. Innocent. Free from suffering.
What’s Next?
The next innocent step is to tell you about my special retreat in Italy.
Picture yourself in a Villa in Tuscany next month (October 17th-24th) with a fabulous group of Vedic meditators who are passionate about Vedic literature and living the good life!
La Dolce Veda is a first-of-its-kind retreat emphasizing the discussion and exploration of Vedic literature in the setting of Tuscany, Florence, and Cinque Terre. This retreat is designed to delight the senses and strengthen the intellect.
Have no concern if you’ve not yet read The Mahabharata. Those of us who are going are all able to get you up to speed. More importantly, this experience is about gaining a renewed appreciation for your own personal story and what it means to truly enjoy the relative world and your role in it with refined senses. You might even discover a newfound love of Vedic literature. Let’s see!
Prerequisite is to be a Vedic meditator.
Who would drop everything in order to go on a weeklong retreat in a Tuscan Villa with a group of awesome people less than a month from now to…
Meet and speak to the brilliant artist, Giampaolo Tomassetti, after viewing his epic art depicting scenes from the great Indian epic, The Mahabharata.
Eat delicious Italian cuisine.
See extraordinary art and architecture.
Have deep conversations about archetypes and the importance of story in our lives.
Enjoy a well-curated experience with plenty of time built in to rest and explore the medieval town next to where we’re staying.
Who would follow their charm, click the button below for the specific details, book a flight, and pack their bags in order to partake in this unique shared experience?
Action taken. Fruit, unknown. Back to watering the roots.
All my love and Jai Guru Deva,
Jamey
Draupadi meeting Kunti by Giampaolo Tomassetti at Museum of Sacred Art
Good reading. Sounds delightful. However my dance card is full for the year 💜
Jai Guru Deva