At the Beach Again
Toronto, Ontario
"Can I join you?" said the voice from afar. Matt, Praveen and I were trudging along with sand through our toes before the sun's early peeking when a young Guyanese fellow affiliated with Krishna culture asked to walk with us. The location was the Beaches area where we were virtually the only ones out near the calming waters. "Of course," I said. We became a quartet of chanters as we strode. It really was a shanti, or, peaceful setting. In fact, our Guyanese friend comes to the lake daily and sits on a rock at the end of the inlet to meditate.
There were many greetings with people once they emerged for running or walking along the boardwalk. Our quartet had trekked to the east and then the westerly direction. An elderly gentleman was walking his bike, and threw out a warm, "Good morning!" We reciprocated. He stopped and asked with a smile the size of one of the Great Lakes, "Do you see the splendour of God here?"
"I very much attempt to."
"Well, it's here!" he asserted.
"I agree, it's the distractions that we all contend with that stands in the way."
The laughter that followed was mutual.
"Well, it's a beautiful distraction," was his final line.
Much later on in the day, back at the temple ashram, a visitor came to have darshan (a viewing of the Krishna deity). I asked him how he was doing.
"Life has its ups and downs. That's what gives it charm, otherwise, we'll be looking at a bland world," he said.
"So, you see the challenges as charms?"
"Yes," he said.
"Would you say that distractions are challenges?"
"Yes."
"Distractions then are charms?" I queried.
"Yes," he said with confidence.
"Is it then the splendour of God that challenges as distractions exist?"
"I really believe that."
The temple phone rang. I got distracted. I nodded a good-bye.
9 Km
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