Miss This Feeling

A good friend recently sent me pictures of the Wesak festival held in Brickfields Maha Vihara, Malaysia- where I used to attend my dhamma classes every Sunday morning. I can't believe how every now and then I will miss this place when I used to complain so much about going for classes back then.
Looking at these pictures has brought me back to so many bittersweet memories. I miss how I used to be running up and down putting make-ups and doing last minute preparation for the dancing girls to perform on stage. I miss how I used to stand at the stalls with other kalyana mitras (pali word translated as spiritual friends) to get our candles sold, either that or were running around chasing people just to get a few penny for donations. I miss how my family and I would go to the food stalls to buy yummy vegetarian dishes and lotus seeds. I miss how the monks would come around to sprinkle holy water with chrysanthemum flower. There are so much about this place - the story of how I first got here, how I grew up here over the years and eventually left ....oh, how I miss the feeling of being there.