Introduction to 'un dia gratis' - A Day in Madrid.

The day was especially arranged by Brittany with total luck granted. She had taken her start-up information from Free Madrid Events listed on the web.

We are traveling as we want to. Though we have occasionally wished we had a bigger 'restaurant budget' or a more ethical, less consumption oriented clothes budget; we realize more often that when we set high expectations we are disappointed; and, we prefer surprises.

We do not want to be contributors to mass consumerism and materialism. That has been a point about how we have traveled this year.

We do not contend that our ability to live off a fixed sum for a long time is the norm. How is what we do different? We aim to use our travel as personal growth to share/blog so that others can benefit from our learning curve. How we are different we hope is by circling the world this year, not getting bored nor living 'on the cheap' and producing products from our travel.

We think and talk and write a lot about explaining to people what we do. At a dinner recently at L'Mansion, Morocco I was told that our budget for a year could not have lasted one couple a month abroad. They get tired, then go home to work. This is normal. We accept our differences.

We live abroad exactly as we hope to, as we expect to, as we would do at home. That is the magic. As our friend a world traveler told us, "You have Time or Money - choose one, you cannot have both."

So I am writing a blog titled 'un dia gratis - one free day' to explain to people who are interested in us, or our story, or in travel, how one day in Madrid, Spain can exemplify our travel ethic, our personalized economy, and a philosophy of urban and social engagement. Please continue to read our blogs as we hope to have many travel hints, experiences, and recommendations to share.

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Rewards for Travelers of Time and Patience

Two key ingredients which we have found for enjoying and getting the most out of your travel are patience and time.

One must have the patience to enjoy your time. And you get more time with patience. We have been told this any number of ways by other travelers and locals we met.

A reader may be surprised to know that we cannot describe with any confidence places that we have been in Japan, Italy, Egypt or the Balkans (and yet, we have impressions and still might recommend them).

Due to our impatience or to a lack of time when visiting these wonderful lands, the times there have faded quickly. What we do have from each are place markers signaling to return whenever we can.

But, could we have done any differently?

There are experiences which linger. Even in Morocco, where I am writing now, I might best describe a moment, a sound. We just have acquired enough patience to be in a new land.

We have still not described above what is for time to come to a traveler. But, finding time or living it - it has its own rewards.

Time is strange. Time is often blurred with jetlag, different daylights, late nights, or morning confusion waking up to an uncertain new space. It is lit up, fluorescent, flickering, passing.

Time is never within our control - and that is its reward. Time is less our control while traveling. It will take place when we let it, no sooner.

The rewards of these qualities which are critical to finding your way out of tourism and into new forms of in-place, culturally contacted, and local travel are Time and Patience.

It is hard to visit any place quickly and get more than cursory glances of a passer-by, [train] stations, and blurry highways.

Being patient, however, earns friendship and respect abroad.

[This blog I would partly connect to not traveling as light as possible - more weight on your shoulders (or precious cargo) - less inspirationally jumping to places without planning. Time is patient.]

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Guruji Paints!

After only one night in the Ashram, we felt a pull from the north, especially after spending the day unsuccessfully finding a hotel in Rishikesh. Although a magnificent and holy place, Rishikesh happened to be in the midst of a one-week International Yoga and Mediation conference and the city was packed with pilgrims and foreigners. 

Before we departed, Swamiji said that Guruji would be happy to answer any questions we might have. Once again, I entered the greeting chamber where Guruji welcomes and speaks with disciples, devotees, travelers, and pilgrims.

I asked Guruji, “what is time?” 

He smiled. He might have even chuckled a bit. 

He replied that time is one of the universal qualities of God which we come to know on the earth. We know it a sunrise and sunset, and in the human form of past, present, and future. Time in its universal form occurs in the present. God the universe is all time.

 

He also spoke to me of health and of actions.

 

 Guruji said that we should use our mouths with great caution. A wise person thinks twice about what he drinks, twice about what he eats, and twice about what he speaks. 

He also spoke about how the body is constructed of three parts: the head, the hands, the heart. The way that we use each part can determine how we live our lives. In conversation, when we use the head, we react. When we use the hands, we retaliate. When we use the heart, we respond. The correct and most valuable action always comes from the heart.

“Where are you going now?” Guruji asked. Clearly he was happy to help guide our trip.

“We do not know yet,” I responded.

“Well, it is better to have some idea of where you are going before setting off somewhere,” he replied. “Have you no idea where you might want to go next?”

“Yes, Guruji, we were thinking of going to Mussoorie,” I answered.

He thought Mussoorie a good decision and provided very accurate travel information that saved us from the constant “fleecing” that follows us throughout India. We packed our bags and stopped by for a final goodbye.

There we found Guruji, standing in the dining area with a large paintbrush in one hand, and a small transistor radio and a cell phone in the other. His four meter long locks draped casually upon his forearm. His paintbrush moved in long strokes along the pale yellow walls. 

“It is so nice to see that you are a painter as well as a guru,” I said to him. “We love to paint. We spend a lot of time painting.” 

“I love to work. I love to paint, to construct,” he replied.
 

And we waved goodbye, leaving the Guru, paintbrush in hand, looking out across the expansive Ganges river.

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