Friday, August 12th, 2016
Pelee Island, Ontario
Driven!
He had whiskers and was no more than a foot in
length. He was tanned and wiggling his
way along, moving by will and not wave.
It was time for him to go.
Providence had told
him so. He had had the lake as his habitat for ‘who knows how long’ and now he was beach-bound.
A group of us, in retreat on the island’s east-side, were ready to indulge in prasadam, a sacred picnic, when we saw this catfish coming our
way. At first glance, I thought “Is he hungry?” as he ignored the kids a-splash
all around him, and ‘
bee-lined’ his
way to dry sand.
He was determined to hit air, to lie on that sand, die, and hence--end a cycle. The water kept pulling him in, in small
lapping waves, but he fought to remove himself from the H2O, and succeeded. He keeled over and did what I’ve seen massive
carps do when they’re aged. They exit
from the water
and camp at the beach, passing away in seconds or maybe minutes. For this catfish, it was about two minutes.
What’s next for him?
A new body awaiting his spirit?
He was pulled by nature, and behind that, a divine
power. Perhaps it was the same power
which compelled those people coming from the winery, to dance with us at our dusk kirtan. We wrapped up the
day by the dock with not a swim, but with receiving a wondrous wind while I led
that timeless mantra and produced a tal on the drum.
I was surprised at the zealousness shown by the folks
who sang and danced. But then after
their sips and swigs of grape-juice-gone-WOW, it’s understandable. We devotees from Ohio, Michigan and Ontario,
were inspired to see the full-on participation.
Everyone, everything, is driven by divine force.
May the Source be with you!
1 km
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