Mar, Portugal
Hello, lovely community of Sadvidya! It has been such a pleasure to read all of the personal stories everyone has been sending in, to get to know each other better and to share our experiences in these challenging times.
My name is Mar and I moved to Portugal in May 2018, to participate in the Jivana Program and to join the Sadvidya Family. It is safe to say that it has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. Grateful for receiving Ācārya’s teachings and to learn and grow so much from and with each other. Something that I already knew and felt but grew even stronger last year when we entered Covid times. I, unfortunately, was affected by this, being a freelancer, I’ve lost my clients over the last few months and it brought me in a difficult financial situation. Not having the comfort of my own family around, was also making it quite challenging at times.
But there was also a silver lining to it, as the situation brought me a lot of time and space which I used to go inwards and to reflect. I started to think of what this situation was teaching me and what changes I could make in my daily life, to adapt more into the ideal lifestyle and live in a more sustainable way.
I started spending more time in the kitchen cooking Ayurvedic meals and enjoying every part of that process. Setting my alarm early mornings for my morning practice and joining the Saṃskṛta classes where I could. Because I didn’t have many external distractions, I was more focused on my practice and gradually over time I noticed it strengthened my Śraddhā – deep faith. Every obstacle I experienced was another invitation to see the lesson I needed to learn. I am convinced that the more time I spend on my practice, Śraddhā would grow and with that, I became more accepting of whatever situation I was in.
In hindsight, I can say that Covid has brought many changes in my life, some of those changes I initially didn’t want to happen but looking back it was exactly what I needed. It gave me a greater perspective and more insight. I am beyond grateful for Ācārya’s teachings and the support we receive from the Sadvidya Family. I have put a picture with my story, of the Jivana group in Portugal, as it was the highlight of 2020 for me: The retreat in November held in Sintra!
