Go as a River

Actually fate popped up at my e-mail account. On Sunday, after waking up from a deep and restoring siesta, I was catching up on my e-mail, which had gone mute for over one week. A friend of mine who was going to coincide with me in India had sent three e-mails asking if I was still going. What had I missed in that week for her to be asking such mysterious question, so persistently? The tone and frequency of these emails were even more perplexing since they were coming from an easy-going, cool young woman. My question was answered fast after a search on CNN: there was a bomb just meters from the ashram I had reservations at; there were a few casualties and also physical damage at the ashram.

The flat was still in silence, as any Sunday afternoon in any city. I was in shock, reading over and over, clicking on every link for more information. As in many other cases, it seemed that it was news for a short period of time, and then it was quickly surpassed by other issues. The initial news were shocking and moving enough to get me frozen for what seemed like long minutes. Should I still go? Is this a one-off or the beginning of a thread? Will I be able to meditate having these events so close in time and space? I e-mailed my closest friends (paradoxically scattered throughout the world), looking for confirmation of a decision that my gut had already taken: cancel. It seemed that now my mind had information that allowed it to align with my gut. My heart had absolutely no problem in staying in NY.

By the evening, it was a closed case. “Are you scared?” “No, I do not need to be scared, because I will not go. What do you think?” “I do not think.” And later I would understand. This was just fate’s first call.

Quote of the Day:


“Spiritual practice is not about going to places and chanting, knowing the stuff and debating. Spiritual practice is the transformation of our perspective and how we look at things. It is how much our mind has changed from negative to positive. That is spiritual practice.”


[From “IF NOT NOW, WHEN?” by Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, www.kechara.com. Kechara is a non-profit Buddhist organization.]