Inspired by so many of you, and our Awakin Circles, Vijay and I got back to our long held dream and started "Chai and Chat" -- just a conversation with anyone who feels like the need for one.

We turned 70 this year. In gratitude for all that we have received, and how we have been held unconditionally by so many, this is our small way to pay it forward. We don't have any answers or solutions, often to our own problems, but over the years, we have learned how to listen and ask questions. Through all our training, from Conflict-Clarification to Narrative Ideas and Practices to personal daily living struggles, we have seen that conversations are often the best way to make visible the landscape of our lives and make informed decisions. Anyone at crossroads or trying to think through an issue or struggling through a problem, and needing a shoulder to lean on, is welcome to a focused conversation at Chai and Chat.

Recently, we had one of our conversations with a high-school student. We spoke about feeling alone, perplexed by life's daunting dualities and also rays of hope. Words poured out as we explored the ray of hope. Earlier she had shared a generosity exchange with a rickshaw driver, which had that touch of magic. She has been part of Awakin gatherings before, but couldn't attend an an Awakin Circle regularly due to distance. And here she was, animated and was flowing with images and words. The moment had to be captured. She being an artist, I asked her to draw the image of this ray of hope, and this is what emerged:



As the Awakin web keeps growing, who can fully comprehend what touches whom and what reaches where. However, we all seem to be developing an inherent sense of it in our bones and thus get inspired to set up these invisible ladders, well entrenched in earth, reaching the sky, one rung at a time.