My Tiny Little Muses...

I am falling madly in love. The Brijbasi children are so captivating, light-hearted, and affectionately playful. I've been adopted by four of them in the two months or so...they eagerly take my hands and drag me here and there- to their one-room home, to their favorite tree swing, to their spinach garden, to their frontyard Tulasi devi altar. One day I was planning to go for a walk around Vrindavana. This usually takes 2 hours. I walked first through the school property, which is where they live. Two of the little ones spotted me. "Hare Krishna! Hari boooooool!!!" They were screaming from some distance away, over and over, running towards me with tiny little legs and oversized smiles. Their honest faces and pure disposition teach me more and more about the beauty of a life of innocence. I pray again and again that my heart can one day become well, ready for genuine knowledge and love, empty of all the nonsense I still hide in there. That is how I understand them. They have unadulterated motives. They live simply and desire simply. They are content to shout out the names of God as they swing on homeade swings, listen to me practice counting my Hindi numbers 1-10, and pick flowers from the gardens next door. Such is the heart and soul of a Brijbasi child. I love putting the dust of their tiny little feet on my head. I am honored to know them and to learn from them the dying art of simplicity.