Monday 9 January 2023

Friday, December 23, 2022

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!


 

No comments: