Blessing of All Blessings

Last night I attended a writer’s meetup where we got together and wrote just for fun. You could read your writing out loud or pass. No pressure, no judgments, just writers writing.  On my way home, I stopped at a local bar for dinner and to hear a Latin band. I bumped into a man whom I danced with a few days ago. We danced a little, and then he convinced me to dance with him for the contest even though I never heard of the Pachata, never saw it and can’t even spell or pronounce it. He said that it was no big deal, and that the judges were the people sitting at the bar, half-drunk and not even watching. I guess that he was wrong because we came in fourth out of four couples!

When I got home, I felt that I was doing too much talking and thinking, and not enough just being.  I needed a different plan for the next day. How about going to a monastery in the mountains and sitting in the hot spring in silence? It sounded divine. I had passed by a monastery when I was here in October with my daughter, and felt that it would be the perfect place to be at peace. I looked it up in the guide book, and got directions to Monastery of Christ in the Desert. I had remembered that it was a Zen monastery, but maybe I was wrong. So, armed with water, an avocado, almonds, apple and chocolate, I drove out of Santa Fe and into the unknown.

As my car ascended the mountain, Santa Fe faded into the distance. The road became empty, not a car or person or house anywhere.  Just beige mountains dotted with dry brush.  I was getting hungry, and my snacks weren’t going to cut it.  When it seemed like there was no chance to get food, I saw a beautiful sight.  Subway on the horizon.  Now, at home I eat healthy and organic.  But, at that moment, I was salvating over the thought of a turkey sandwich and bag of potato chips.  With my new stash of food I drove further into the mountains with views so spectacular that they brought tears to my eyes. I found myself saying thank you, thank you over and over again.

But, something was wrong. I didn’t remember the monastery being so far away. My body was feeling the pressure of the increasing altitude, so I turned around.  It seems that I had missed the turn. I got on the right road which was a gravelly, rocky, dusty 13.5 mile single lane. There wasn’t a sign of civilization anywhere, and I was getting scared.  If something happened to me, I would be a fossil before anyone found me.  I turned around and decided that this was not the place for me. I called my daughter (can’t believe there was cell reception), and she helped me locate the right Zen monastery.  But, it would be another two hour drive.  Hungry and needing a bathroom, I devised an alternate plan.

I wasn’t far from Ojo Caliente Hot Springs.  I decided to stop there before going home. It might not be a monastery, but soaking in pools of naturally iron-rich water would be soothing and relaxing. And, I needed to get out of the car. When I arrived, I was told that a visiting monk was about to perform a blessing of the waters ceremony.  It was a rare and special occasion.  I was just in time.  The monk is from a dharma lineage that predates Tibetan Buddhism by eighteen thousand years.  From my spot in a steamy pool, I witness and became a part of a sacred, centuries-old tradition of blessing the water in our bodies and in our earth.  The native American man introducing him said that to receive a blessing by a monk of such a long lineage is as common as a sea turtle surfacing in the middle of the ocean and swimming in a circle of gold light. When I told him that I hadn’t planned on being there that day, he said, “You are one of the sea turtles.”

It is said that New Mexico can be welcoming or spit you out.  After my adventure today, I truly believe that I am being welcomed!

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