Thursday, December 13th, 2012

A Thing Happened

 

Mississauga, Ontario

A funny thing happened on the way to the airport or rather at the airport. I was notified at the ticket counter before heading for Halifax that I was 12 hours early. The error was mine. My scheduled PM time was mistaken for AM. “Don’t worry,” said the lady at the counter, “it happens all the time.” A sigh of relief was followed by a call to Rajasuya for a pick me up and then a stay at his home. In a jiff he came and there I was made to relax, eat and then walk, all my choice of activities, really.

At Sugar Maple Park I did roam. The sap did not flow but there was some residual moisture of recent rain that muddied a great trail. The kilometre long path with sub-branches is frequented by school kids. Two young boys were talking about Batman. A young couple after class strolled along at a snail’s pace appearing to prolong their moments together. Two middle school girls were exploring bugs in a rotted out tree.

The sun shone and I wanted to make the most of the stretch so I walked the windy trail and rewalked it back and forth, just as I reword the mantra over and over again. What doesn’t get repeated in this world, either by action or by word? I’m sure students do the trek to and fro between home and school every day. Yes, repetition is everywhere. The newspaper recycles stories of crime and achievements. Only the faces and names change. The sun rises, the sun falls. Everywhere there are examples of repetition. The Vedas, the books of incredible stories and philosophy that are so much a part of my life, record cosmic tales of truth that get spun over and over reminding us of God’s divine plan to address the demigods, creators and destroyers of this world, with a ‘repetez s’il vous plait’. According to the Gita, recycling is also expressed. This holds true for the soul which passes from one body to the next. From this recycling process we should become exhausted eventually and come to a Why? What can I learn from visiting the same place over and over again? Maybe I could do something different. Maybe a little more attention could go a long way. At least that would have helped me had I looked at my ticket more concisely and gone to the terminal only once.

We have to continue to roll out the questions. “Do I want to come back? Do I want to be recycled. If I could wrap up the reincarnational process in this life, what do I have to do?”

5 KM