Mass Email - Happy Thanksgiving

Namaste, all!

I realize this will be arriving a bit early, but I wanted to send out some love to all of you in celebration of Thanksgiving (as it is actually the night of for me).

Being here in the noisy, polluted (yet still somehow tropical and beautiful in the paradoxal way that India is) city of Trivandrum awaiting our flight to Goa tomorrow morning, I can't help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude....for the opportunity I've had to experience all of the wonders of travel, to meet such an array of amazing people on the way, and to have such a solid group of extraordinary friends and family members to return home to next week.

...yup, that's right.....NEXT WEEK! I suppose I'll shamelessly admit that I have officially run out of money, and have to cut my trip short by 2 weeks. Typical, right? :) Although I'm actually finding it a bit of a blessing in disguise, as I will still have a full week to laze on the beaches of Goa before I head home. I've been fighting off a nasty cold for the past week or so, and the wear and tear of travel is definitely starting to take it's toll, so I think my return will be timely and highly anticipated on my end. If I'm lucky, maybe I can still catch a few scraps of leftovers from Thanksgiving.....................who am I kidding with my brothers and their appetites! :)

Anyhow, folks, I thought I'd keep this email relatively short and leave you all with some of the things I'm greattful for after traveling around India for 3 months:

-First and foremost, my family for being so supportive of my seemingly senseless dreams and ambitions, and moreso for inspiring me to pursue them with abandon. Each and every one of you is a blessing in my life, and I would surely not be who I am (and certainly where I am) without all of your love and support. I can't wait to see you.

-My friends of every history and calibur...I can't help but look at this list of people who I've been boring with my ridiculously long emails and think how fortunate I am to have such a group of extraordinary people to call my friends. You all embody qualities of beauty and greatness that have touched my life in so many different and profound ways, and I feel infinitely proud to have you in my life. Hearing from you all throughout my travels has kept me sane and grounded and I can't wait to come back and share all my crazy stories with you all (and hear what you've all been up to).

-The people I've met on my travels...from the kids at Ramana's, the other volunteers who became my dear friends, my travel partners, my Lotus House family, my Vipassana co-survivors, the beautiful Israelis, Kristin, and all the other wonderful people who came into my life a bit more briefly...I feel so lucky to have met you all, and hope that we will stay in touch. You will always have a home in California (or wherever I may be).

-The opportunity to travel.....being here in India I have met so many Indian people who are so awestruck by Western tourists. They bombard you with questions that seem, at first, a bit invasive, asking about your quality of life back home, how much money you make, your family, how much it cost you to come to India, etc. They ask about where you've been in India, and once you delve a bit deeper into the conversation, you will - more often than not - learn that they have never even left their hometown, let alone their state or country. They talk about how they could only dream of visiting the Western world to see what life is like outside of the chaos of India. We are SO lucky to have the opportunity to travel the world and experience life in other countries and cultures that are so vastly different from our own. It is an experience that only opens one's eyes to the diversity of human life around the world, but ultimately reveals the oneness of humanity. I urge all of you to take advantage of this opportunity to whatever extent you can. It really is a gift unlike any other.

-The comforts of the Western World.....while traveling is a blessing, it also helps reveal just how lucky we are back in the States (or other Western countries), and how our standard of living is truly exceptional. Some simple things we take for granted that I am right now sorely missing include hot water, drinkable water, grocery stores, peanut butter, real cheese, vegetables other than tomatoes/cucumbers/onions (that's all they have here), spring mattresses, washing machines and DRYERS!!!!!!!!!!, traffic laws that are actually enforced, hot tubs (best invention EVER), higher education, power that stays on the whole day, the ASPCA and other animal rights activists, accessible immunizations for deadly diseases, Whole Foods and Trader Joes, sushi, personal space, ice, margies, smoothies, air conditioning, tofu, Shirley Wongs, good Mexican food, gyms, El Coyote Fridays, Cat & Fiddle nights, and all the other little day to day things that we roll our eyes at that really aren't all that bad at all.

-Finally, I'm thankful that our country seems to be taking some positive steps forward with the outcome of the recent Congressional elections. It definitely eases my mind a bit to return home knowing that there may be hope of stopping the powers that be from wreaking more havoc on the world. The newstands here are just as full of headlines about the elections, and even the rickshaw drivers ask me about it almost every day. It's scary to think how much of an affect we have on the world at large, but empowering to know it may be possible to turn things around and hopefully make a POSITIVE impact going forward.

Anyway, folks, I guess it was a bit longer than expected, but nonetheless...Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I love you all, and can't wait to see you soon. And to those of you I won't be seeing soon....much love to you wherever you may be!

Much love
Cass