I was and am so filled with gratitude and joy for having had the opportunity yesterday to docent the beautiful group of adult ESL (English as a Second Language) students from an adult school associated with the Venice Skills Center. My heart was full when I learned that these 35 beautiful individuals were from Russia and from the Ukraine, from China, Japan, and Korea, from Egypt and from Iran, from Italy, from Brazil and Mexico, and probably other countries I have missed.

These were folks who had come together, transcending in some cases both historical and current tensions between their countries, sharing their lives and supporting each other in learning a “foreign” language and adjusting to living in a foreign environment. As another MSIA minister once said to me, in teaching/participating in an ESL class, “English is really the second language: love is the first.” I had experienced that in my classroom when I taught ESL, and now it was very evident again. And, here they were at the Travelers’ home!  How awesome was that!

And yes, here they were, and I’m wondering how am I going to explain what MSIA is about, translate “soul transcendence” and offer some introduction to the spiritual tradition and use of a labyrinth??  And then I just relaxed, reassured myself that the Travelers and Spirit had this covered, and I let go. And Spirit was right there, giving me the simple words that seemed right for this particular group.

I was aware that my knowledge/experience with ESL was being utilized – and I was grateful for that recognition and for being able to use it in service – however, I was also aware that all that was really necessary was the kindness, the loving and the joy.  The energy was there and everyone was participating in it. Actually,  I have found that always to be the case when docenting– it seems that all docents docent a bit differently, bringing different talents and experiences to the table, and Spirit just seems to find a way to put the right visitors with the right docent.  All we have to do is do our best to be in the loving. I always think J-R must be smiling when he sees that – to me, it is what MSIA is really about.

I must add that a lot of what this particular group brought forth to Prana was because of their teacher, Jolie Kingsley Ceo. She has brought her classes to Prana on two prior occasions, and I was not at all surprised to learn that she has been on Discourses for 2 years! What a beautiful soul, dearly loved and respected by her students.  Her loving influence on the group was very evident.

And, of course, Spirit was working Its magic through our wonderful chef, David, who somehow managed to bring forth a lunch that was “international” in nature, even though he did not know the make-up of the group. The participants’ consumption of the delicious food was the best testament to this!  And Susan added a special treat by giving the participants a packet of “seeds” as a parting gift. (I admit I was struggling a bit as to how to explain “seeding” in an easy way, and then relating it to how they could use the actual seeds, but again, all that really mattered was the gratitude I saw; seems to me that maybe that’s the foundation of seeding.)

I (obviously) could go on and on. I am so appreciative for having had this experience. Thanks to the Travelers who keep holding for all of us and anchoring that energy at Prana, thanks to the MSIA presidency who keep supporting the openness to the community and the expense of keeping Prana and the gardens so beautiful, and thanks to you, Carol, for somehow making it all come together. What a blessing!