Saera

Hey everybody!

Daniel and I moved to Northampton, MA, at the beginning of April. Northampton is in Western Massachusetts. Daniel is working at a Starbucks downtown, about a 7 minute walk. I transferred to the nearest Whole Foods, which is in the town of Hadley to the Northeast. It's about a 30 minute bike ride to work for me. We live in a house that has been converted to apartments. It's very nice, in an actual neighborhood. I am volunteering for a farm called Montwood Community Farm, about a 5 minute bike ride away. That is a great opportunity, although I've only been able to go once so far. I am hoping to go again tomorrow. Earlier this week, we found a second cat on Craigslist. We renamed him Jubal. He is about 8 months old, active, playful, and affectionate. He is a little overweight, but we think this was from anxious overeating due to the four year old child he lived with before. He has calmed down a lot since he came to live with us, and we want to transition to allowing him outside soon.

The biggest thing in our lives right now is the development of our Buddhist practice and our growing involvement in the Soka Gakkai (Value Creation Society) International. The living room of our apartment is dedicated to our Gohonzon, the scroll that basically is a focal point for our practice. The size and shape of the room are well suited to meetings, so we are opening our home to fellow members, particularly the youth, for meetings, daimoku (chanting), and study. This is a great opportunity, and we are being showered with study materials to share. We have a World Peace Prayer Meeting the first Sunday of every month, and I had the opportunity to be one of the MCs for our May Meeting. We are meeting wonderful people and continuing to challenge ourselves to be more compassionate and courageous.

I have also found a wonderful opportunity to pursue my goal of eventually founding a village. I am volunteering for Montview Community Farm, a farm co-op located in Northampton, about a 5 minute bike ride from my house. This past Wednesday, I was able to work for about six and a half hours, planting potatoes, moving wood, transplanting greens, and building a trellis for peas. I worked with two other Sarahs and some other delightful people as well. It was my second day, and I hope to squeeze in more throughout the summer.

My current address is 50 Phillips Place #2R, Northampton, MA 01060.

I hope all is well with each of you, and that you are all making progress on those goals which engender compassion, courage, and a peaceful future for humanity!
-- Saera