243 Ave. Rd., Toronto
Don’t You Close Down
Schools are closed. Shops are
closed. Businesses are closed. Some roads – shut down. It is not the weekend.
It is not Christmas yet. Winter solstice, Gita Jayanti and
Hanukkah have been celebrated already, or at least have kick started. The
reason for the CLOSED signs being put up is because of the bad weather. Simply
that.
However, one place that remains
open and is on duty is the fire department. We know that because the sirens
were sounded and the fire brigade dashed through the streets and headed for our
ashram. I knew that something was up because the fire alarm went off in
our building. In the most efficient way red fire engines responded.
I was curious, naturally, and
made my way downstairs to check it out. Sure enough, one of the fellows in
thick fire-protection regalia found the problem before I got to the scene of
the problem. “No fire!” said the fire fighter. “This is an old-school issue
here”. He explained that the fire alarm pulley was part open and one of our
residents or workers swept by and his shirt got stuck in the device. When
trying to set himself free, the alarm went off.
Clearly it was a false alarm.
Whew!
I believe false alarms go off all
the time. For instance, in the case of the general public always going after
sense gratification – the dangling carrot – and when it doesn’t actually come
to them, they go into a panic mode. It’s as if the world was to come to an end.
And when some patience and austerity is called upon, they freak. The frenzy
tactic is really a false alarm. Instead of feeling some deprivation over our
stimulation, why not enjoy acceptance of a virtue?
May the Source be with you!
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