Seek the Infinite, for that alone is Joy unlimited, imperishable, unfailing, self-sustaining, unconditioned, timeless. When you have this joy, human life becomes a paradise; the light, the grace, the power, the perfections of that which is highest in your inner consciousness, appear in your everyday life.
Swami Omkarananda
I am blessed to have this time to seek out the beauty, the Infinite, in everyday life. I admit, this is a pretty easy mission when surrounded by palm trees.
The heat wave dissipated and I set off to the post office in Luxor. In our rural area, the service taxis working our route look less like vans and more like trucks with human cargo. Ten people 'fit' in the back, two upfront with the driver, and as many as can hang off the 'tailgate'.
This morning I was the lone rider to the ferry landing. Returning home, the service is always full and I make friends with those who get a kick out of a foreigner riding with them. As I approach the point on the road closest to our home, I knock on the window or press the buzzer (upper left) to tell the driver to stop. Efficient service for 50 piasters (less than 10 cents).
The view from Luxor back towards the West Bank was beautiful as the water sparkled in the not-so-hot sun. The moored boats are dahabeyyas, as Amelia Edwards used to travel the Nile in the nineteenth century. They seldom use their sails these days due to government regulations on the waterway, but they hoist them anyways because even a little canvas unfurled is a fine sight as it wafts in the breeze.
Arabic lacks a p-sound and so B and P are often considered interchangeable, such as ordering a Bebsi to drink. Many Egyptian friends don't hear the difference between the two letters -- just as I don't hear the difference in two of their letters that both sound like "H" to me but they insist are completely different. Oh well, God bless them for my morning chuckle.
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