Sacred Space Of Awakin Homes
November 19, 2016
Very moved by an Awakin Circle in Surat. An hour after the circle, Mihir said that two of his friends, completely unaware of one another, each sent him a text message: "The best two hours of my life."
It's hard to say what causes what. Half hour before this circle, we were in a school auditorium, and while the kids snagged 700 smile cards, it held a loose-tie feeling. Here, in a living room crammed with 100 loose-tie folks from the community, everyone felt like we had known each other forever.
What is not hard to say is the context of such a space? Pinal-ben and her husband, Nipun-bhai (he's N2 while I'm N1 :)), were the hosts, in the same space that they hold Awakin Circles. With overflowing gratitude, Pinal-ben often shares, "When we started, the kids were complaining that they won't be able to watch TV on Wednesday. But just within the last year, I can't tell you how Awakin Circles have changed everything in my life. It has changed my relationship to my husband, our connection with our three kids (who now host Awakin Circles when we're not home), and our connection with our community. My kids did Smile Card activities on the Surat streets, then volunteered at a local Karma Kitchen, took 7 of their friends to visit Seva Café in Ahmedabad, then hosted their own Karma Kitchen locally, and now even volunteer at our retreats! And it's just been a year!"
Last year, right as we met, Pinal-ben offered this hand-drawn painting for my brother:
← All writing
It's hard to say what causes what. Half hour before this circle, we were in a school auditorium, and while the kids snagged 700 smile cards, it held a loose-tie feeling. Here, in a living room crammed with 100 loose-tie folks from the community, everyone felt like we had known each other forever.
What is not hard to say is the context of such a space? Pinal-ben and her husband, Nipun-bhai (he's N2 while I'm N1 :)), were the hosts, in the same space that they hold Awakin Circles. With overflowing gratitude, Pinal-ben often shares, "When we started, the kids were complaining that they won't be able to watch TV on Wednesday. But just within the last year, I can't tell you how Awakin Circles have changed everything in my life. It has changed my relationship to my husband, our connection with our three kids (who now host Awakin Circles when we're not home), and our connection with our community. My kids did Smile Card activities on the Surat streets, then volunteered at a local Karma Kitchen, took 7 of their friends to visit Seva Café in Ahmedabad, then hosted their own Karma Kitchen locally, and now even volunteer at our retreats! And it's just been a year!"
Last year, right as we met, Pinal-ben offered this hand-drawn painting for my brother: