It’s Good To Cry Sometimes
Toronto, Ontario
He left it all behind (the material world) when he was 17. He’s now 40 years plus the 17. He’s tall, well built, and had a promising future when he became a brahmachari (monk) in ’74. Now, at 57, he came to me and cried on my shoulder. He’s taller than me, a big man, and took a moment to be emotional. He mentioned how he’s become sensitive over the fact that with the aging process he’s losing his vim and vigor. He questions his future. He also mentioned loneliness. I really felt for him.
It’s been years since he left monastic life and he has had relationships. All the while he never forgot Krishna. That’s been his saving grace. He never ceases to make friends and tell people about his found wisdom. He likes to share. He and I have done some walking together. Affectionately, I would say his talk is the speed of his walk, and does a lot of that.
I tried to cheer him up, “You’ve done well. You’re making the best out of your life.” It’s true, his spiritual side has protected him hundreds of times. “Check 17.16 from the Gita which addresses how to engage the mind and satisfy it with stories from the Puranas and the Mahabharat.” “Always be thinking of doing good for others,” Our guru, Srila Prabhupada says in the purport of 17.16.
Of course the tender moments in a good sweet cry is healing in itself. I let him know to be in contact with me at any time, and that I’m happy to be a sounding board. I see it as a service. Who knows, I will likely need to cry on someone’s shoulder one day, whether devotionally strong or not. It’s good to cry sometimes.
4 KM
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