Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

For Lynn

Toronto, Ontario

My peering out the window this early morning before sunrise revealed a wet street and a dripping sky. This told me to put on some rain gear and to walk to a sheltered area where I could pace back and forth. At Yonge and Summerhill there is this century old handsome piece of architecture, a former passenger Canadian Pacific Railway Station and now a high end liquor store. It is one of the few places near by the temple ashram where I can go for solitude to chant and pace.

I noticed a sign on the door, "Public Notice". It went on to read the the administration has removed liquor merchandise from the premises, a certain Woody's brand, that was found to have glass pieces in its contents. That's scary. Imagine getting your stomach sliced open in millions of spots. From the perspective of a swami, one who avoids intoxicants altogether, it raises questions as to which is worse, the fluid or the glass chips? With a peak through the window I was impressed with the neatly aligned filled bottles on shelves, brands of bottles with Christmas ornamentation. The shop is pristine inside and a worker was checking inventory very meticulously. Hmmm! "The quality of cleanliness is what a temple ought to always be," I thought. When you move around into different areas of a city or country, there's always something there to inspire you. You just open your eyes and it's there.

I received a call today (hours later) from Lynn, whom I met in Nova Scotia while on my walk this last September. She kept my number and wanted to talk. Apparently life has been rough for her. Her grandmom of 103 years of age, just passed away and Lynn herself is suffering physically from an accident from when she was in her teens. She was looking to be cheered up from what I could gather.

"You can get inspiration from just about anywhere you look." I thought of the liquor store and how I was able to see beyond the nasty beverage, beyond the chips of glass, beyond all the money that's made from preying on human weakness and beyond the rain.

My message to her was, "Let's swing to the positive. Write down what's positive like I do every day and start healing. And the most positive thing of all is your spirituality." I vowed to send her a Christmas gift - a book about Krishna.

7 KM