Tuesday, October 18th, 2024
North York, Ontario
It is an irresistible urge to get up and go on that myriad of sidewalks in the direction of my hosts this night. The route I chose going north (and only part way otherwise I would arrive late) was along the section of the Great Trail where our Indigenous folks traversed, by passing Casa Loma, the magnificent castle, over a bridge above a gorgeous ravine up to Eglinton Ave, a busy thoroughfare and then…. well, I got picked up by Shyama Dulal, my host.
He is a great cook and she, Satyabhama, a great doctor. Our dinner and conversation went down well. And what kind of things came up in our dialogue? Well, people’s health, education, a confused youth, a failing government, and the deterioration of values and spiritual practices.
Sounds depressing doesn’t it ? Nevertheless hope entered the picture. We talked about our own contribution, individually, about applying personal discipline, a natural practice for devotees. The neighbourhood in this North York, by the way, does have some presence of orthodox Judaism. In fact, on my way up, on foot, I did come upon some of the Hasadic followers all in block.
One thing that come up in our talk was a quote from Mark Twain. “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frog’s, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
This angle of Twain’s is saying that once that one task is done, the rest of the day will be an easier ride, get momentum and accomplishment at the beginning of the day, without procrastinating.
Followers of bhakti like to get some austerity in, in the morning. For me it has been chanting and walking.
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!
5 km
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