ASHBURN, VA – Ashby Ponds resident Geraldine Guess says she has found the secret to happiness — meditation, compassion, a labyrinth or two and a blending of Christianity and Buddhism.
Fifteen years ago, Guess challenged herself to each year meet a famous person she admired. It was after she started reading “Living Buddha, Living Christ” that she knew meeting the author, expatriate Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, could have a profound influence on her life.
Guess, a Christian, was impressed by Hanh’s teachings that encourage an entwining of other religions with Buddhism. She signed up for a meditation course Hanh was teaching at the Omega Institute, a holistic wellness center in Rhinebeck, N.Y. After participating in a daylong vow of silence and several meditation sessions, she decided to take a break to explore her surroundings. Little did she realize that her little walk would bring her to tears.
“I was walking across the main courtyard when I saw Thich Nhat Hanh,” Guess said. “He looked at me, and I burst into tears. He never said a word to me, and I do not know why I started to cry. I just think that’s the kind of effect he has on people. He looks deep inside you.”
Although that was Guess’ only personal encounter with Hanh, it was enough to convince her that his teachings could provide more meaning to her life.
While living in North Carolina, Guess was diagnosed with cancer. While most people would turn to medicine, Guess turned to Buddhism.
Building a labyrinth out of plants in her backyard, Guess found the perfect distraction — a serene environment where she could walk and focus on any thought that entered her mind. While she does not pretend that Buddhism beat her cancer, she does credit the religion for helping to see her through it.
“I had so much on my mind that a labyrinth was a perfect way for me to, as Thich Nhat Hanh puts it, “quiet a monkey mind,’” Guess said. “I used to walk around my labyrinth and not focus on anything in particular. I would simply allow the thoughts to come to me. Sometimes I would repeat my thoughts over and over.”
Of all of Guess’ experiences with Buddhism, the one that has changed her the most is her compassion. On a regular basis, Guess wishes herself to be “happy, healthy, peaceful and safe.” She repeats this numerous times, and then wishes the same for somebody who she barely knows. The tough part, she said, is wishing it for people she doesn’t like, although she refuses to name names.
Much like the other residents at Ashby Ponds, Guess is new, but that has not stopped her from spreading the happiness and compassion. She routinely hosts meditation classes, and she plans to begin exploring other opportunities.
“I’m not sure what’s next,” Guess said. “I’m so new here that I need to explore what’s around me. I’m interested in traveling and spending time with people, in general. There’s something special in everybody.”
Ashby Ponds, an Erickson full-service retirement community which opened in September 2008, is now home to more than 300 residents. Reservations for two new residential buildings opening this spring are now being accepted. When fully built, more than 2,000 people will live at Ashby Ponds, and the community will employ nearly 1,000 full- and part-time employees, including hundreds of area high school students. Erickson Retirement Communities is one of the leading national developers of full-service retirement communities. Headquartered near Baltimore, Md., Erickson has built an innovative network of communities that combines a maintenance-free, active lifestyle with an ever-expanding host of amenities, social activities, and wellness and medical centers, proven to improve both physical and mental health. Erickson was named by FORTUNE as being one of the Top 100 “2009 Best Companies to Work For®.”
For more information about this story, please contact Jason Connors, public relations manager, at (703) 923-4690.
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