Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Congo Woman and Bats

Toronto, Ontario

We hit a cold snap so when I took that evening trek south on Avenue Road you could feel it. With wind chill it registered at 20 degrees Celsius below zero.

A woman asked for the Bay subway station. She was lost. I then diverted from the route I was to take in order to see that she would find her place. It's a service I could do. I relayed to her that I live in the Krishna temple up the street. I asked her where she was from.

"From the Congo."
"You must find this weather interesting?" I asked.
"Yes, it's cold. So you believe in the Lord?"
"I certainly do," I affirmed. "There's no other way! And you?"
"Yes, I depend on the Lord, I can't live without Him."

As she said this I thought that one advantage of extreme cold is that it forces dependency so it can't be all that bad. Taking the old saying, "If you have to live with it, you might as well love it", takes on a powerful meaning at such times. With this simple circumstance of winds whipping in from the north I had made a friend. I was able to be of some service. The woman from the Congo was ever so thankful to reach the Bay Station.

Now for enthusiasts of the winter airs, check out YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJjn16jowwk&feature=share

Hundreds of bats swirled in the air on midnight at Dundas Square. We were at our spot, chanting away in the midst of party animalism, when above us in the sky an influx of Batman bhaktas (devotees) came in to welcome the New year.

Happy 2012! Hare Krishna!

7 Km