Sunday, November 9th, 2014

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Finally, Beyond Dullness


I like to be early enough for catching a flight to wherever my destination might be.  Two of our travelling monks, Brhat and Hayagriva, dropped me off at Toronto’s airport to see that this becomes a reality. 

There’s no customs.  It’s a domestic flight.  Screening and security checks went smooth and fast.  All went fairly well, yet something hit me that didn’t go over so well for the eyes.  The décor in the waiting areas was colourless – all drab and grey.  The brief visit to the bladder room (Americans say ‘restroom’, Canadians say ‘washroom’, some Europeans tell it like it is ‘the toilette’), meant looking at off-white and grey tiles , it was unappealing.  I suddenly had a mental vision of grim-ness over dawn when it would make an appearance for us to view the outdoors.  Being the in between season of the vibrant colours of autumn and the pretty pure whiteness of snow, we are wedged in a period of, once again, greyness.

I came out from the bladder room only to be hit by more dinginess.  Most passengers were wearing black, grey and muted browns.  People were lined up and looking as if in a funeral procession.  The only sign of life, ironically, was the red poppy on people’s lapels that honour the glorious dead, soldiers of war.

Oh, and yes, there was this guy whose presence contradicted everything else.  This fellow sported a saffron-toned hoody that really stood out.  At one moment I thought to strike up a conversation and ask, “Where the heck did you find that colour that would mistake you for a Hare Krishna?”

The flight was short, under two hours.  Halifax, here I am.

A quiet couple, Sahil and Nirmana, greeted me.  We had a full day of catching up on things, food and devotion which included a chanting session at a venue on Hollis St.  True brilliance came our way when we strolled the trails at Point Pleasant Park.  It was when dusk was approaching.  The cloudy day itself became clouded by the sun’s absence.  And as it, the sun, was about to do its disappointing act, the coastal sky flaunted patches of pink.  Set as a backdrop beyond the silhouetted trees, was this spread of gorgeousness, of wondrous sky above and the glistening water of the harbor below.

I reflected on all the pictures of Krishna that my eyes have ever met.  So much colour in there.

May the Source be with you!

7 KM