Today in the morning we started from Wiesbaden again. Our way of travelling is maybe a bit difficult to understand for some people. We are always asked: don’t you miss home when you are travelling? And I have to say no. It is of course great to be at home and after a very long time we want to go back again, to be with family and to enjoy being at the Ashram, but in the time of travelling, we are not missing anything. It is our philosophy to have a big family, existing of our friends everywhere around the globe and wherever you come, you are at home. We are very happy to have so great friends everywhere who enjoy this philosophy, who love having us in their homes and being a part of this family.
It is beautiful to see how our friends then also feel home at our home in Vrindavan, at the Ashram. Just in the same way as we come to Thomas and Iris, they and everyone else, are at any time welcome at the Ashram. There is no pressure of having guests or being host, it is just easy. Then it also doesn’t matter how long your guests will stay because they are like family. You want to have your family around you and you want to be with them. I always hear from friends that family meetings become very stressful because everybody has expectations from each other. At the Ashram and also when we are travelling we like to keep the atmosphere free of this kind of factors that make stress. Everybody is free to do what he feels. You don’t need to entertain each other and you meet for food and whenever you feel like it.
And now we are here in Cologne with our friends Antje and Joachim and we are just enjoying this feeling once more.
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I too have this experience of things being stressful if the family has to be together, but there are others who are like family that I don’t mind spending lots and lots of time with.
I think everyone should just be natural! I am traveling a lot lately, and this is something I’m learning again and again.
It s nice to have a host who wants to help you and make you feel welcomed, but if you have a constant stream of guests I understand how it would not be possible for most people to host like that. on the other hand- some people were born for a job like this and find liveliness from it.
Many people find hosting guests to be very stressful… but it is only in their mind that it’s such a big deal. They worry about pleasing the guest and making everything clean, lovely, and perfect. But when the guest has no expectations, then the host can relax! Also, if the host has no expectations of the guest, then he/she will truly live in the moment during his/her stay, causing no stress.
It is lovely to have many friends, especially ones all over the world. I too love hosting them when they come to stay and never feel awkward. I love letting them see my life and culture and showing them around.