Platform Nine and a half: Episode 2.

Platform Nine and a half Episode 2.

Totally unawares, once again I wondered into my Platform nine and half. This was a charming encounter, and it happened in the early autumn, in a small fishing village north of Amsterdam. 

We were in the Netherlands for a workshop, discovering the universality of existence, and our soul's purpose on this planet's journey. Some of us fulfill it, some of us lose the roadmap. Yet others find their purpose, but only after being lost for some part of their earthly existence.  

While our journeys are different, they are also intertwined in undercurrents, some collectively defined by happenings bigger than those we control. War and political disruption, or some natural calamity create circumstances that engulf large masses of humanity. Within that surge of happenstance, are small actions that we control and decide upon. So goes by the time, defined as one's life.

One of the topics at the workshop/ retreat was how we are all connected to one another, not just as a race, but as human beings. Of the several traits that bind us together, one is Man's spirit of innovation as a means of survival. Innovations that live long past their inventors for the benefit of all humanity. Being held in the Netherlands, the workshop presenter used a great example used to illustrate the point. It was the invention of the Dutch dykes and windmills. This innovation literally 'pushed out the oceans' and 'created' land for the Dutch to cultivate. 

"The Dutch have become very innovative when it comes to keeping out the water. They have built dykes, fortifications and last but not least wind and watermills to create new land. The oldest mill is a watermill that dates back to the eighth century. These techniques were used to pump dry hundreds of lakes and swamps and to prevent land from flooding. Today, windmills are characteristic of the Dutch landscape and a symbol of the Dutch struggle with water."

-From: http://www.holland.com/us/tourism/article/dutch-windmills.htm

and

http://www.holland.com/global/tourism/article/functions-of-windmills-in-holland.htm

After the completion of the Workshop, we extended our stay for another night, in an attempt to hold on to the Energy which can only be generated with so many well intentioned souls in the same space. One's heart beats to a calm, peaceful, contented rhythm, assuring us that all is well with the world, and if not, it has the potential. Solutions seem possible. 

There had been complete unity in thought and intention in that sacred space. The loving and calming peaceful energy is like an invisible fog, that envelops you in an embrace. We decided to stay on another night to hold on to the magic. 

The next morning found us in the said fishing village. We had dined here the previous night, and were back this morning to buy some smoked eel to take home. While we waited to be served, we eyed the different fish. Soon enough, a smiling lady offered us a taste of the salmon we had been eyeing, but were hesitating to buy. Of course it was delicious and we brought not just the salmon, but also the trout and the eel, being assured it would survive the two hours drive to Brussels. 

"Where are you from," she asked us. Usually, this means that they have either been to India, or there is an India story. "Florida" is my automatic response, as I quickly added, "originally from India."

"I have been to India", she told us.

"In 1977, with my husband, and we were in Bombay". 

"I got lost" she added. "One minute we were out for a walk, and then, he went another way and I could not find him." She had the 'look' on her face, as if she were reliving her story. 

"We did not have mobile phones in those days," she said laughingly. "Then I met a woman, and she asked me to sleep in her house. So I did." That was it, just like that. She met a stranger who took her home. She went.

"How did you and your husband finally find each other?" The surprise in my face must have showed.

"I just went to the airport, and he was there," she stated almost matter of factly. "Then we came home," she added. 

I did not ask her how long she stayed at the woman's place, or other details. Being away from India so long, my curiosity has ebbed somewhat, but it was enough to know, that clearly hers was a happy experience. 

She wanted to know if an encounter such as hers, would still be likely in India. "After all this time," because, "all the clever people who are doing computer work, and they have so much money?" 

Without wanting to shatter her fantasy, I told her possibly in the smaller towns, but one never really knows these days. I made a couple of trips to Bombay myself in 1977. The woman and I could have been in Bombay at the same time, under the same sky, maybe we passed each other on the street. Now we were meeting again?

She was amiable and clearly wanted to chat. We talked about being the generation that has marveled at  the birth of the Transistor radio, felt pride and awe at the moon landings, and now take for granted cell phones and every conceivable gizmo and gadget, that we use in our daily lives.

I had my own story to tell her about the kindness of strangers. It unfolded in 1978, a few days before Christmas. My daughter was just a baby and we were traveling to the UK. Our flight which took off from Delhi was the last to land in London, before the airport was closed due to inhospitable/ inclement weather. All subsequent incoming flights had been cancelled. 

London however, was not our final destination. It was Hull, in Yorkshire. The Humber Bridge was still under construction. If we could not fly out, it could be a slowfive hour car journey on treacherous roads. Fortunately, Aer Lingus operated the 30 minute flight on its small 8 seater  "The Gods must be crazy" surreal plane. 

Upon landing in Hull, we were quickly taken on board the ship we were joining there. The heavy snow and extreme cold were so bad that when I woke up the next morning, and ventured out on deck, I could see sharp edged and humungous chunks of white hard froth frozen into ice, bobbing on the surface of whatever it was we were floating on, because I could barely see the water. It was that cold.

The Humber river seemed to be quite choppy and nearly frozen like crude and dirty ice cream being churned in an angry wide blender. It was as if the North Sea (reputedly always choppy and constantly a source of ships' rolling and pitching) had come up the very river that flows into it. 

The ship was held up in port, due to maintenance requirements and for commercial reasons. They estimated a stay of over 5 weeks. Two days after our arrival, the ship had power supply malfunctioning and we had no heating in the cabins. While the off shore crew worked hard to restore heating, we surrounded our daughter's crib with bright high power light bulbs to keep her warm. 

The off shore Plumber charger, working on something else frequently went past the cabin as I kept the door open to avoid the loneliness of being cooped up on board ship. At times he haltingly glanced inside, with a hesitant  smile of acknowledgement. It was a little unnerving. The next day, he knocked at the door and of course, I let him in. He said he had been telling his wife, about the baby, and that there was no power on the ship. She had asked him to bring us home to stay with them till power was restored to the heating. It was just like that, a simple and direct invitation. That is how we met Eddie and Margaret. 

We still remain connected, I told the lady, as she smiled and nodded as if we had just shared a delicious meal. At the moment, we both met on a shared plane of consciousness. 

The world is full of wonderfully kind people. People to people, inherently we all want the same things for us, our families, our communities and in our lives. We are created to be good and noble, with the potential to 'push back the ocean', which the Dutch did, so more food could be grown to feed all the people. We were not meant to be the near cannibalistic creatures we have become, in pursuit of our greed. It is but only the goodness within us, that can make our life's journey worthwhile. 

At the end of this journey, the playing field is leveled, dust to dust. Only love survives. That was the lesson of the workshop. All we need to do is remember this fact. The rest would fall in place if we could simply base our actions on realizing that we are connected by virtue of being the most superior race. That is to be remembered, and that alone should matter, first and foremost. 

Why do some of us lose the roadmap then? Why do we stray from our highest potential and fall into the trap of deceitful behavior, some taking pride in being cruel and callous. Why the sham, and inauthentic living? Who are we trying to fool, when the first person to be fooled is ourselves. Why not discover our own Platform nine and half? Why not take a journey that will be one of continuous joy in companionship. Some of us are doing it already. They appear as angels, but are as real as you and me. Why instead do we contaminate the joys our journey can afford and make it the pursuit of tangibles? Will we ever know, can we not understand?