My First Day In Dubai -- At An Awakin Circle! :)

Today was my first day in Dubai. Ever. It is a land of superlatives -- biggest mall, tallest building, largest library. Home to Formula One races, Masters PGA events, and Corporate conventions. Just 500 thousand residents, and rest of the 4.5 million are on a kind of work visa. If you opened up the Uber app, you'd have an option for "Uber Chopper".

In this context, lots of inspired people as well. It is home to various Awakin Circles, most recently at Sunita's home. Loads of local kindness events. Many Karma Kitchens.

Tonight, Sunita and her family hosted an Awakin Circle. After a reading, we all shared and I closed it out with some stories. Post-dinner, the story session continued. What struck me about the circle was how many "slow stories" it took to create that circle. Three sets of parents (Neha, Prahladd, Nandita) who were brought into the fold by their kids in different parts of the world. Bunch of youngsters, who were inspired by local events. Sunita and her husband were originally moved by Sheetal and Khushmita's love in India. When a circle has such deep roots, the vibe can go even deeper. That's exactly what happened, particularly in the informal time after dinner.  

Here's more from Sunita.



At the end, I passed out Kit Kats from Japan. :)  After Maki's circle, where I had shared the trashed pencil story, a gentleman came up to me with some Kit Kats and shared a beautiful letter in his broken English that said, "It's a small gift, but wrapped in a lot of gratitude. Please pay it forward."  And now, the inner-net connected him to brothers and sisters in Dubai.  The slow-but-strong stories ripple on.   

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