Hello Dear Friends,

Each Tuesday evening this past month, I have experienced fullness of heart as I bow and greet each one of you arriving at Sangha House for the first time after more than a year of physical absence. While our home practices have thrived in new ways this past year, the coming together to meditate in the great hall brings joy and a sense of renewal this spring season.

Along with you, I am buoyed by the increased access to vaccinations and health care that will reduce harm via COVID-19 in this coming year and am pleased that so many of you have been fully vaccinated and feel safe returning to our dear Sangha House as the pandemic enters yet another transitional phase.

While the blossoms of spring bring great joy, along with that joy is a sense of anxiety and fear. So much seems to be coming at us, so quickly as we "open up" here in Indiana. I don't know about you, but I am finding the need to look with care and thoughtfulness as I experience the excitement of returning to more freedom of movement within the world.

It's not easy being human and seeing ever more clearly that we are not in control of very much. Anything can happen in any moment. What seemed like the skillful way to live, speak and act last month might not seem so skillful this month. The truth of change.

Really, who wants to feel that raw vulnerability-to feel that they are not in control? What we are doing on this path is opening more and more to this raw vulnerability. To uncertainty, to impermanence. We can feel that vulnerability and realize, "Oh, I'm okay. I’ll be okay."

And we are.

May all of us know peace, joy and strength,

Please come out to help with Spring Clean Up! We need volunteers!

We are having community work days on Saturday, May 1st from 9 a.m. till noon, and the following Saturday, May 8th from noon until 3 p.m. Come dressed for and ready to do yardwork. We'll be weeding and preparing flower beds, putting down mulch, and planting some small shrubs. The soil on Sandpoint Drive lives up to its name! Full of sand and easy to work with!

All are welcome! Drop by to help for any or all of the times listed. We are also planning a full day of yardwork in June.

We are meeting in person again! Join us on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. We continue to observe social distancing guidelines. We have chairs distanced apart in the meditation room. We continue to offer a Zoom connection for those who prefer that option.

We are pleased to be able to ramp up our services and our offerings again. Hope to see you soon at Sangha House or online!

Our mission is to share the Buddha's teachings with all those who are interested, to provide support to deepen our meditation practice, and to bring wisdom and compassion into daily life.

IMFW is scheduling an outdoor workday at Sangha House from 9-12 on Saturday, May 1, and from 12-3 on Saturday, May 8.

We are so excited to be back together once again while continuing to use precautions. Even if your body won't allow you to do gardening work, feel free to join us and experience the joy of coming together as community. We believe that working outdoors together is a responsible way to re-new our friendships after a year of being apart. If you are able to assist, we have all sorts of activities planned from planting shrubs, weeding, trimming, feeding plants to spreading mulch. You may choose the level of work that best fits your interest and ability. It would be helpful if you have your own tools, shovels, and wheelbarrows, to bring them.

Please let me know if you are planning to come and what time frame you are choosing.

Tammy
tamaradyer6@gmail.com

Please mark your calendar for a daylong retreat at Sangha House on Saturday, June 5th, from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. You may join us for either all day or half day but please stay for that entire time frame to support your own and other’s practice during this day of mindfulness training. More information to follow.

Tammy