My life was in transition when I began the program at Maitripa College. After all those years I found myself adrift without family or even pets. My son had grown and was mostly gone. I was trying to establish myself in a new job and a new apartment, not having rented since the early ‘80s. I felt unsettled and, for the first time, I couldn’t imagine my future. Maitripa gave me a multi-year plan. After that, I expected I would know what to do.
I still have the same job, which I do differently, and the same apartment. My outer life hasn’t changed all that much, but my inner life has. Instead of spending time on damage control, I’m spending time envisioning things. I have faith in the dharma instead of being essentially faithless. I feel lucky and pretty optimistic.
I feel that what I have learned at Maitripa has become a part of who I am, what I do, and how I express myself. I find I am more considerate to clients than I used to be, for example, and I’ve ramped up my community service. I understand that by supporting these communities, everyone benefits, even myself.
