Time Pressured
Brampton, Ontario
It's a blessing to keep busy in service. It's a curse to be under engaged. It's a mixed blessing/curse to have too much. Even a devotional life requires prioritizing and working within timelines. Being human means that anyone can 'snap' due to overload, regardless of how strong your fever for service.
In monastic life such as mine, which takes on a mentor's role and added to that, administrative duties plus the artistic output, much happy time is consumed. If it wasn't for the daily reflective walking, life would be overwhelming. The walk permits a much needed 'time to myself' period as time for people, congregants, gets very demanding.
People need attention as life in modern times arouses too many complexities. There appears to be a lacking of 'outlet' or 'chill out time' for the average person in the so called developed world.
It's as a Nepalese woman, the clerk at a grocery store counter, told me today, "In this country there is not time to go to the temple. You have to always work to pay the bills."
This woman detected my 'devotioness', my 'ISKCON-ness', while incognitoed in winter wear, upon seeing my neck beads, faded forehead tilak markings and saffron coloured kurta top.
"Hare Krishna?" she asked as I came to the counter for a small yogurt purchase.
"Yes!" From there we talked.
It had been a day of 'go-go' - delivering a class in our Brampton centre, then two more class presentations in Toronto with people needing in between. Of course, on Sundays, demands intensify. All the more reason for 'the walk that chills'. It makes the difference between make or break. We must plan wisely in order for balance to prevail.
8 Km
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