Saturday, December 5th, 2015

Saturday, December 5th, 2015
Brampton, Ontario

7 Kilometers Won’t Kill

My stay in Cuba had been rewarding. Within my one week there, my legs got fixed up. It was Umesh, who travelled with us, that did the massage healing. He treated my legs as though they were roti dough. He kneaded them back into shape.

That, among other things, allowed me to reflect on the Cuba trip as a success. Now that I am back at home base, more repair (or let’s say ‘preparation’) had to be executed. I went to the dentist for a filling on my wisdom tooth (lower right). Upon arrival to the clinic, and after having a hard look at the tooth, it was determined that it would be better to take it out. The job was done, hence, I’m about 2 grams lighter.

This is all mechanical work of course, you can call it ‘care’ for the machinery, and this is done in order to function on a longer and more effective basis. It’s looking after yourself; clearly a part of the bhakti system. In order to care for others, you must invest in care for yourself. Care for the self doesn’t mean to be excessive or to go overboard, it means to give the right amount.

As Sri Krishna informs us in the Gita, Chapter 6, Verse 16:

“There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogi, O Arjuna, if one eats too much, or eats too little, sleeps too much, or does not sleep enough.”

Then Verse 17 reads:

“He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation, and work, can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.”

The message is to be temperate, or moderate, in what one does.

I have to remind myself that extreme walking is not moderate, and I’ve done that. Therefore, I’ve been having leg issues, from trekking through those hills in Pennsylvania. Thank you, Umesh, for fixing them. The 7 kilometres of today won’t kill me.

May the Source be with you!

7 km