Yesterday was a good day, I tell you h'whut. I pretty much got to spend the entire day with my honey, which...it's ALWAYS a good day if I can spend even some of it with him! Anyway, our plan was to go to the temple he attends, Kalachandji's, and eat at their vegetarian/vegan restaurant and then he would show me the temple. Well, that place is pretty bad on my anxiety. Just the parking alone is kind of a bitch. There's no actual lot, so people just park on the street. Well, we get there and there's a huge lunch rush, so there's basically little to no parking. I've got one hand on the steering wheel and one hand holding his, and as we're driving along my anxiety starts getting the better of me. I feel my hand shaking in his, and he's trying to get a hold on it and to keep me calm. I find sort of a place to stop on the side of the road, and I'm freaking out. Pulling at my hair, on the verge of tears. But my sweetie is so calm and tries to reassure me that everything's okay. He was actually telling me that we should go somewhere else because he was so concerned about me. I love how kind and sweet he is, and he's always just so thoughtful <3 But I was determined to at least get inside the building. I drive around again, and park. So we make it that far! We decide at that point to just take it step by step, so the next step is to get out of the car. Then he shows me the front of the building, and we end up meeting up with the temple president, who was super-nice! He actually kind of "forced" us into the building. I mean, I don't mean he physically forced us or anything, but my sweetie told him that it's my first time seeing the temple, and he was like, "Oh, welcome! Well, come on in!" So actually, it was nice having that "push" to enter the building. Anyway, we get in, and we take off our shoes and enter the actual temple room. I had been to Kalachandji's before, but not the actual temple room. It was BEAUTIFUL. There are all these beautiful pictures of Krishna at various points in his life, and it was such a wonderful experience letting my honey share the stories behind the pictures with me. It was like I had my own personal tour guide! It was amazing! Anyway, I got a chance to see the deities in person for the first time, and I was impressed by their size. The actual deities as well as all the flowers and beautiful decorations surrounding them took up an entire wall! We got there at just the right time, because the curtain was about to close over the deities. They had just eaten lunch, and were about to settle down for a nap. But they stayed awake long enough for us to see them and say hello! My sweetie also showed me the statue of Srila Prabhupada, the founder of the ISKCON movement. The more I learn about that man, the more I respect him. He came all the way from India to the US, started a whole new life here so that he could fulfill his duty of writing books in the United States. Sweetie and I are reading his book of the Bhagavad Gita, called "Bhagavad-Gita: As It Is", and I'm enjoying every word so far! I'm really finding myself deeply interested in ISKCON and its principles and views. Talking to my sweetie about it is so much fun, too! I learn so much from him, and he's always so happy to answer my questions, no matter how insignificant or stupid they might be. I could talk for hours about ISKCON and Krishna with him.
Anyway, goodness! This post kind of derailed. But the main point of this post is, I'm actually kind of proud of myself! My anxiety before entering Kalachandji's was pretty bad. But, I managed to accomplish at least part of what I wanted to do! We ended up not going to the restaurant because the crowd was too large for me. But, heck, we entered the temple, which was a big goal for me! My sweetheart is a big part of why I've been able to overcome some of my anxieties lately. He's so patient and loving with me, so when I get anxious, he's the one to tell me to breathe and to take things slowly. I don't know what I'd do without him <3
