Wattle Hollow Retreat Center

We are posting some ‘excerpts’ of the Tales from Thailand emails Joy is sending while in Thailand this month. To receive the full emails send Joy an email.

Staff Day is a unique time at SDS. The center is closed to visitors. Anything can happen on Staff Day. I’ve seen dignified elderly men in glittery gowns, with giant breasts, big hair, and clown shoes; ordinarily proper women in schoolgirls’ uniforms, with pigtails, big pink bows and ….. There’s no telling what can happen on Staff Day.

Nawng-Joy told me that she and I would be on the Yellow Flower team. With this information, I was secretly preparing a costume a few days in advance. I’d bought wire at the hardware store, and borrowed cloth, thread and needle. Giant twin flowers were born from the picture in my mind. The wire frame fastened around my torso and yellow flowers boinged above my head. I was working on this project when I got a call from Nawng-Joy: Mae Chee requested my presence in the Dharma-sala right away.

Minutes later, Nawng-Joy handed me the microphone, in front of 400 seated students, and whispered, ” Pa-Joy, do something for about 15 minutes, with flute, song, and talking. I took a breath, pantomimed a skit about having This, but wanting That, sang some songs, and played my flute.

Afterwards, Mae Chee spoke about how I am well-loved and respected at SDS, no matter what I look like. And that everyone in the audience should respect me, no matter what I look like. Hmmm. She’d never said that before…. Later, I glanced in the reflection of my computer monitor and noticed that I was still wearing an odd part of my yellow flower costume in my hair. With only a 3″ mirror to inspect my appearance, what can one expect? And Mae Chee never misses a learning opportunity.

Last week, I asked Nawng-Joy to tell Mae Chee that I love all the new installations and wonderful gardens that have happened since last year…. Mae Chee responded, very quietly:

“Nothing is as beautiful as a stable mind, Pa-Joy.”

I can’t know if this was a suggestion directed to me, or a simple observation. But this mind can certainly use stabilizing.

~Pa-Joy

from Tales From Thailand #3