1 minute read
Beloved Sisters and Brothers
Autumn 2023
It is fascinating how life unfolds in its own way, yet the outcome is exactly as it should be. I spent most of December looking forward to our cruise on Queen Elizabeth with great anticipation. My first cruise in 2019/2020 was magical. My main concern was that we avoid Covid and actually get on the ship. Our first week was lovely and lots of fun. Dress-ups on gala evenings and Christmas celebrations. I saw the magnificent albatrosses as we got closer to New Zealand. However, I caught Covid just after Christmas, and I had it quite badly; poor Azad got it two days later. We were moved to a quarantine cabin with a balcony so we could have lots of fresh air and given the antivirals very quickly on Medicare. We could not have been in a better place to have Covid – all meals delivered to the door, movies and entertainment on TV and lots of time to sleep, and we could ask for whatever we wanted. But strangely, one of my best experiences was as I was sitting out on the balcony watching the sea and doing my practices. The noise of the waves crashing on the hull was powerful – the Tasman Sea is rough, and the waves move in two directions from the Pacific Ocean and the Bass Straight – crashing into each other. I allowed myself to fall into the sound and the ocean in my mind – the concentration took me to a wonderful place of complete peace. It is a place I can still visit.
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We were both Covid negative when we arrived back in Melbourne, but it took us another few weeks to totally get over it. It is strange that I now feel better than before we left – I wonder if the antivirals cured more than Covid. It has taken me quite a long time even to want to go out and mix with people again. So many wonderful friends offered help, but I just wanted to be alone.
It is only now that I feel able to go out and visit again. Our retreat with Nawab in April is ahead, and we are getting into the planning and registrations. I look forward to being with our Sufi family again and to experience a powerful and profound retreat. The topic is one close to my heart. Please come if you can – I realise that we must grab opportunities now as they may never come again.
With love,
Nuria
