I’ve clearly not been blogging here, but after just seeing a
picture of my poured foundation, I have to write in praise of my hero, Grant Burns.
Grant is hilarious, brilliant, bright-eyed, really tan, a great musician, a Robitusan spokesperson on TV, a diamond-tatooed man, and a maker of miracles. I’m not sure if people know that Grant figured out and created the paths in the retreat valley, back when cabins in most places seemed like impossible dreams. My site and many others were considered impossible to get to with any kind of vehicle (remember when we were talking about helicopter drops?), and Grant made all the paths that turned into roads happen somehow—it was impossible, then Grant did it. And from what I can see, he did it with perfect worldview. He wanted to do retreat, he wanted others to do retreat, so he took a leap, left his agent in NYC and any possibility of another lucrative acting gig, and just starting the hard work of making paths … for months on end. By himself. Day after day.
Every retreatant has a long list of people to thank for this opportunity--so many people have done so much. Grant is a behind-the-scenes guy, but he should be up there, for all of us.
Now Grant has taken on building my cabin all by himself. I don’t have the money to pay for crews or to pay him really, except for the most basic living expenses (he’s living in a tent and probably just eats nectar pills). He could be building on a crew for a wage because he’s very skilled, he
could be doing endless other things with his time. Instead, he is breaking his back day after day to make someone else’s retreat possible, without thinking about how his own cabin will materialize.
Sometimes really high practitioners come as people who curse a lot in hilarious standup routines in the Temple :) And play guitar outside and drink cokes and coffee during Tantra breaks. Grant has poured his heart into our retreat valley for a couple years now, and he’s building my cabin as an act of devotion to our Holy Lamas and an act of truth, and he’s just pretty much the coolest kusalu in my book.
Thank you Grant, for your years of labor in the retreat valley for all of us, and for making my retreat possible.
