Sunday 3 July 2011

Friday, July 1st, 2011

Above Water

Watrous, Saskatchewan

It had become a somewhat of a recreation day. After all it’s a national holiday. Canada as we know it was born in 1867 on July 1st. You’ll usually find me near Parliament Hill in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, chanting with a group of Krishna monks and laypersons.

This year kirtan for me was at little Manitou Lake, a body of water which has similar dynamics to the Dead Sea. Upon these healing mineral waters your body floats. One eager devotee swam the entire width of the lake, leaving the rest of us most anxious. The anguish fuelled the kirtan. Our prayers were answered as the devotee was detected from out-of-range (due to the size of the lake) to visibility and finally back to safe shore.

It was an above-water experience. This topic of staying afloat become a sustained theme. Three of us temple dwellers visiting Saskatoon for devotional performances conversed about how each of us was raised by our parents. In the case of each of us our parents are sustaining life-long partnerships. Mine are deceased but saw through a 40th wedding anniversary. God bless them!

We spoke admiringly of our loved ones and how they held us offspring as number one objects of duty and affection. They lived “sacrifice” to the book. Divorce was not a consideration for them. It was “old school” type of thinking. They --our parents-- kept us always above water. You know, there should never be a day without gratitude.

8 Km

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