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Ojai, California – Funny what you can find when you are least expecting. I’m out here, more or less as carry-on baggage, while my wife attends a surgery conference. First I learn, thanks to twitter friend Tom Stitt, that David Allen, author of Getting Things Done lives on the outskirts of town. I did swing by but since I’m not a stalker I only took this pic of his mail box as proof of my curiosity if nothing else. I did read his book, but visiting him was not on my to-do list, so it didn’t get done.

However, I did make an exception to my list when I learned that Krishnamurti had spent a good part of his life in Ojai and that there existed a Krishnamurti Library and Archive supported by the Krishnamurti Foundation of America.

I had read many of Krishnamurti’s works when I was younger and was taken with his observations on the role of thought and how to understand the comings and goings of one’s own mind. Visiting the center was a pleasure with a very helpful and courteous staff who were knowledgeable about all things Krishnamurti. They do have an amazing archive of books, DVDs etc, as well as some compelling photographs made throughout his life and travels.

Allen and Krishnamurti. The Ojai connection runs deep. For those of you who have read Allen’s book, see if you can find him in these words by Krishnamurti:

We carry our burdens all the time; we never die to them, we never leave them behind. It is only when we give complete attention to a problem and solve it immediately — never carrying it over to the next day, the next minute — that there is solitude. Then even if we live in a crowded house or are in a bus, we have solitude. And that solitude indicates a fresh mind, an innocent mind.