Building New Concrete Pathways

And Healing Old Wounds

Me posing with the concrete mixer shortly before it was to be poured. It’s important to wear a mask and eye protection because otherwise you would breathe in the concrete dust and it would get in your eyes.

Sometimes life can seem like a crazy forest filled with dangerous pitfalls as well as incredible opportunities. I recently had the opportunity to build pathways out of concrete with a meditation group that I learned about thanks to a coworker. I’ve never gotten so dirty or felt so tired, however overall it was a truly amazing and meaningful experience that has brought me increased feelings of balance, clarity and positivity.

On Monday, September 2nd, 2019, we finished about 8 or 9 new sections of this concrete pathway.

Further down the path…

I never imagined working with concrete out in nature could feel so amazing. The wooden frames were previously set up by another work team. We, the concrete team, worked together to first make sure the soil was even, then pour the concrete and water into the concrete mixer, then pour the concrete mixture on the soil, then use metal rakes to even out the concrete, then the finishing team would smooth it out very precisely and place a few decorative rocks on top.

This place is called Bodhi Woods up in the Santa Cruz mountains. It’s like a zen meditation cooperative retreat start up / school where people in the group have the opportunity to get away from the city and spend time in nature. I came to my first “work day” on Saturday, August 24th when I worked with the landscaping team. Monday, September 2nd, was my second work day and I had the pleasure of working with the pathways team, building concrete paths.

I feel so thankful to have found this group, or “sangha” as we refer to it internally. When I’ve told some friends about it, some have said it sounds like a cult. My teacher says, it’s not a cult. It’s a school and people are free to come and go as they please, so for now I’m sticking to it.

Some of the cabins on the property.

“The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything.” — Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind