ANSWERING A LONG-AWAITED CALLING

For years, Nepal called to me; quietly, patiently.

I always felt it in small ways; in the stillness of mountains I hadn’t yet seen, in the pull toward silence I hadn’t yet embraced.

But I never went.

I couldn’t leave my Amma alone, and in my heart, I knew the timing wasn’t right.

Now, after her passing earlier this year, the call feels different; softer, but clearer.

It’s no longer about escape or adventure, but about peace. About finally listening to what I’ve been hearing for so long.

This December, I’ll be heading to Nepal, not just to travel, but to sit in silence, to listen inward, and perhaps, to heal.

I fly mid December and will stay a night in the city before checking in at the council office to register for the journey to the foothills of Dhamma Shringar, where my ten-day Vipassana meditation begins. 

For ten days, there will be no phones, no conversations; just silence, breath, and the hum of my own awareness.

On Christmas morning, I’ll leave Dhamma and return to the city for two quiet days before flying home. The timing feels perfect; just in time for Amma’s first-year prayer the following morning (according to our Hindu calendar).

Between now and then, it’s all planning…what to pack for the winter, how to prepare my mind, and how to keep my heart open for what’s to come.

I can’t quite explain it, but I know I’m being led where I need to be.

Notes / What I Felt:

Writing this feels tender, like holding both past and future in my hands. There’s a quiet ache in preparing for this journey without Amma beside me, yet a deep peace in knowing she’s part of every step I take.

This trip to Nepal feels less like travel and more like surrender…to stillness, to silence, to whatever healing needs to unfold.

Maybe that’s what courage looks like now, listening to life’s quiet invitations and saying yes, even with a trembling heart. 

For now, I’m simply letting the journey unfold one quiet step, one honest breath at a time.