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Published: February 3rd 2011
I am in Goa, was planning head to Mumbai tomorrow. Yesterday I rented a scooter, had a beautiful day, lunch of King Fish and veggies, mixed fruit smoothie, a swim in turtle beach, then a nice walk. I felt so much joy and at peace in my heart and mind. Continued on into a village passing beautiful very green farming areas, stopping to find an ice cream with a hard chocolate center that I keep seeing ad/pictures of, I had this as a kid.
The people of Goa, so far are so very different from Kerala people. In Kerala everyone smiles and seems to be looking into the soul, there is a recognition that takes place that is so life affirming. In Goa, they offer maybe, a quarter smile, yet look with harder, sad, dark eyes, seem less contented. I have asked around about the people of Goa. There was Portuguese settlement here, hundreds (s) of years ago. Was told the people here are more material oriented, one person's opinion. Do they see a dollar sign when see foreigners coming? I don't think so. I look with curiosity and a desire to see the perfection in the people of this
land, I can imagine that tourism can bring money and can also bring a loss of culture. I intended to get a bit away from touristy, beach areas yesterday to get a better feel. Still very, very little smiles, maybe they just don''t smile much, and they could be perfectly happy.
When I was in Nursing school, I worked at a trauma center, the Trauma educator taught us that they were changing the language of "accident" to motor vehicle crash. Saying an accident can be prevented, and possibly that nothing really is random, that life really is all about the choices one makes, which path to take in the moment. If I had made a different choice I would not have been there and crashed in the way I did. As I believe with conviction, I'm always in the right place at the right time always safe, yesterday has had me question my vulnerability. I had a crash, lost control of the scooter, no one was coming at that moment, no dogs, no distractions, all of a sudden I could no longer control the steering and balance. I accelerated a bit, which I can see now is a response to
fear and loss of control, as I crashed a snowmobile when I was 8 y/o on my first go, then I responded the same, to accelerate. I went off the road toward the lake into dry bush. Others were driving, stopped to help and stayed with me. I called on all the spiritual, supernatural, divine healing available to me, praying. I feel beyond any doubt that the healing force I acknowledged within and without significantly lessened my injuries.
My further experience with Goan people left me feeling deeply saddened. The ambulance who could speak some English, would barely look me in the eyes, did not ask me "How are you?" Granted there was an enter-age of locals all talking at once. The EMT went to lift my leg after I begged him not to, he then acknowledged the pain I was in and convinced me to allow him to splint as my knee was swelling rapidly. At the local government hospital, I was approached by an officer, advised to deny fault in a written statement, I consulted my friend who is a lawyer in Kerala and followed his advice. They told me I had to go to a private hospital
in order to receive an x-ray and treatment. I was advised they could not transport me by ambulance, they took off my splint, refused to give me pain medication offered for transport, and did not help me get into the taxi...I was in shock at there callousness. Thankfully I had one of the owners of the place I am staying, with me who has lived here for 10 years, from Nepal and the local taxi driver. He got me some pain medication for the journey. They shared a horror story about the poor care of government hospitals, so at least it was not personal.
At the private hospital an orthopedic surgeon whom had just come from a conference in Atlanta, just days before, knew how to treat me right away without x-ray. He pulled about 3 syringes of blood off my knee, explained that some kind of tear caused the bleeding and rapid swelling, immobility and severe pain. The rest of me is fine, aside from scraps, bruising, soreness. He ordered me to limit weight bearing, take meds, to return for a MRI on Saturday.
With the utmost desire for the highest healing, and awareness, I now contemplate from the
simplicity of my heart, focusing on healing and receiving care from the community I am in right now, India has brought me to my knees.
I have made wonderful friends here in India, who are looking after me in the physical and from a far. I am staying on the beach in a hut, with an open air restaurant within 15 feet, I am safe, and as much as I would love to walk and explore more, I am behaving myself😊
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Terry N
non-member comment
Giving thanks...
Christine, I'm so glad you're feeling cared for after your incident. One encounters all kinds of folks in India, as elsewhere. I'm sure you'll bring to you those who will support your recovery and continued journey! Thinking of you...