East of Yonge
Sweet Pear Bits
I had a sore craving for some
leftover pear slices in the lunch room’s fridge. It was after midnight and insomnia
hit me so I made it down the stairs, picked up two garbage bags outside
Govinda’s Restaurant, which is adjoined to our ashram, to toss in the trash
room. The bowl of small pear bits was still there. I transferred them into a
small katori dish and made my way up with the fruit securely in hand.
The clock had turned to be April
Fool’s Day and I don’t think within the somewhat strict regimen of the ashram
that I was foolish at all for my minor nibble-break. I didn’t even feel guilty.
Happy, actually! I was reminiscing about the morning before. Fancy that – I was
on a Zoom call with some Scottish seniors from the actual highlands over the
Atlantic. This group of inter-faith folk were curious about my monastic life,
my walks and in general; what does my day look like on the average?
It was a cozy conversation. They
had question and my responses seemed to comfort. I shared some thoughts:
1) God or Krishna gives each and
every one of us the gifts of physical, intellectual, and emotional power. We
catch it, process it, individualize and send a meagre portion back to Him. It’s
called bhakti; love.
2) We don’t die. Our bodies do.
We move on to greener pastures; greener than the Highlands.
3) In our mature years we gather
our collective wisdom and experience, then, with that ammunition, fight off the
last of our little demons’ clearing the internal clutter before making our exit
to love.
Those pear bits were yummy.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
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