I just survived a trip with my family!

My mom & my siblings will launch a vehement protest on this (my father's always neutral)  but I cannot think of a more apt statement.

It felt as though I was transported back to high school.

We'd wake each other up in the morning and cajole each other to take a bath.  (I go back to sleep after dawn meditation).  Ate Con, Mama and Papa are up and about like roosters while the rest of us need the alarm of a hundred gongs.  Since we're a big family, it will take 2 hours for everyone to be ready. 

Some are patiently waiting. The others will get upset. Then, we'll all reconcile when we get going.

The next commotion happens when we decide on the itinerary for the day after breakfast. We bicker like little kids, each one pushing for his/her agenda before we reach a compromise. (There's this unwritten rule that we always have to be together this family trip.)

Then somewhere in between, someone loses a ticket, a passport or gets lost.  Initially, hell breaks loose.  Then, eventually we'd huddle to get out of the rut.

Of course, there will always be the teasing and the I-want-to-interfere-with-your-choices-drama. 

"Ate Karen, why are you wearing the same top everyday?"

"I have 5 of these white shirts!"

"You haven't eaten the whole day."

"I've been drinking fresh juices the whole day. It's actually healthier than your food.”

"Why is your face like that? Can you please get a facial?"

"Can you please leave my face alone?”

Most of our photos look like this. And we are generally happy to be together.

But sometimes, being with the people I'm most familiar with actually feels like this. (My siblings urged me to meditate by this tree. I didn't know they have a sinister plan.)

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed being with my family.  It's just that, I have to stand my ground firmer when I'm around them. 

I think we have strings and even webs of attachment to the ones closest to us. They can pull these strings more strongly than others. And when we feel the yank, we react without filtering or sugarcoating.

There's very few things which can upset me nowadays. I guess I've matured. But what my parents and siblings say or do still pinches or flatters my heart.

A true yogi remains equal either in praise or defamation.

I guess I'm not yet a yogi.

At least, I now know what I still need to work on. 

Detachment...being loving with clinging, involved yet not dependent.

meditation by Release Your Wings