India, Sept. 28 -- Dear Reader,

I wake with a sense of unease. The weather has turned, and outside my window I see blue skies and the sun.

But I feel overwhelmed. I must chase an errant electrician who has taken an advance from me and will not take my calls. I must inspect plumbing, choose wood polish, buy water tanks and wires. And I have done none of these things, freezing like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car. What's worse is the cherry and apricot trees I planted last year have died. It was the weeks of water logging, the man at the nursery said.

But then I step out to walk to the Manali Mission Hospital. My way lies through a pine forest. It is quiet. There is a chill in the air. Sunbeams fall on the path ahead of...