Timepiece

I have a digital alarm clock that I bought in India solely to ensure that I woke up by 5:00 a.m. in time to catch my plane from Trivandrum to New Delhi on my way back to Chicago. (A caveat: If my cell phone hadn't been unusable in India, this wouldn't have been an issue, because I typically use my cell phone as an alarm and I had expected to be able to do that in India, but that was not to be the case.)

Prior to my departure date, I had verified my checkout time with the lodge manager not once but three times because I knew they didn't typically open up the doors until 7:00 or later in the morning. I'm sure he was sick of talking to me by the time I left, especially after assuring me numerous times that I was allowing myself more than enough time to arrive at the airport if I left at 6:30 a.m. and that everything would be fine.

Finding the clock required a shopping excursion of sorts. Ater taking my life in my hands and dodging all kinds of foot, car and other traffic, I arrived at the three-story mall in a state of relief and quickly found a store that sold all kinds of clocks. Knowing that most people use their cell phones as clocks/alarms/etc. I wasn't sure that any store would even sell alarm clocks, but once I located one, I spent a lot of time wandering around looking at myriad clocks in all shapes and sizes for a basic clock that wouldn't be too complicated to use.

The store owner and his attendant were very patient and showed me numerous clocks until I found one that was lightweight and very reasonably priced (I can be kind of a cheapskate) and I decided to overlook the fact that it played "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" although it was already late January.

I tend to be a little deficient when it comes to such things as setting digital clocks that actually go off when they're supposed to, but I came home feeling confident that I would actually get up on time and arrive at the airport well ahead of schedule. The only problem was that I hadn't factored in how loud the traffic and sounds from the street were. When I tested the alarm clock back at the lodge, I realized that I'd never wake up because I wouldn't hear it.

At this point, I realized that I would have to stay up all night to ensure that I didn't oversleep. It then became a marathon night of watching every cable channel beamed to the Indian subcontinent. I watched talk shows, American television shows, some that I had never watched back home, and a show that appeared to be the Indian version of American Idol. Needless to say,I was relieved (and tired) when I finally realized it was 5:00 a.m.

It was still dark in the hallway when I opened the door and looked out to see if anyone was around. I took a quick shower, wheeled my already packed suitcase after me down the stairs and was relieved to see that manager had already arrived. He smiled at me kindly and tried to resist when I insisted on overpaying my bill because he had been so accomodating, but he finally relented and gave me a quick Indian head bob and suddenly, unexpectedly I teared up and he looked at me in a sympathetic way that made me even more misty eyed.

I realized that in just in the five days I stayed at the lodge, I had developed a routine of sorts--from the knock on the door every morning with one of the hotel staff asking if I wanted an Indian coffee, which is some of the best coffee I've ever had. I usually drank two or three cups, which they seemed to find very amusing; going downstairs to the second floor where the Internet cafe was located; the young man in charge always greeted me really cheerfully, "Hello Miss Gita. How are you today?" Making my way back upstairs to get ready for the day and figure out what I was going to do that day--take an auto rickshaw to the beach, the zoo, the temple, or try to find my way to the Kingsway that sold European groceries, pizza and pastries.

As I flagged down an auto rickshaw to get to the airport, it was finally starting to get light. We took off at breakneck speed narrowly missing other vehicles, cars, people and large and small animals and I already found myself starting to feel nostalgic for India.

Flash forward to the present. I placed my little alarm clock in my bedroom when I returned home and every night since I've been back, it goes off at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. in the morning and I'm awakened by the digital sounds of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." I'm sure I could fix it, but for some reason I haven't yet.

By Thich Nhat Hanh

Transcending Birth and Death

We often think that birth is that which does not exist coming into existence, and that death is that which does exist ceasing to exist. When we look deeply at things, we see that this idea about birth and death is mistaken in many respects. No phenomenon whatsoever can come into existence out of nothing and no phenomenon which exists can become nothing. Things are ceaselessly transforming. The cloud does not die; it only becomes rain. The rain is not born; it is only the transformation and continuation of the cloud. Leaves, a pair of shoes, joy and sorrow all conform to this principle of no-birth and no-death...

By Thich Nhat Hanh

Excerpted from Our Appointment with Life: The Buddha's Teaching on Living in the Present

Thoughts

Thought is crooked
because it can invent anything
and see things that are not there.
It can perform the most extraordinary tricks,
therefore it cannot be depended upon.


-Krishnamurti

Mukti

What is then worth having?
Mukti, freedom

-Swami Vivekananda

Walking the Walk

I just watched video of thousands of Iranians protesting the election results in Iran. I applaud the brave Iranians who are risking their lives to make their voices heard on the streets of Tehran.

Cats Really Do Meditate

I’ve decided that cats know how to meditate. They are totally in the “now.” They’re not thinking about tomorrow, or the next day, or their five-, ten- or twenty-year plans.

When a cat is focused on something, their laser like concentration is something to be wondered at. A cat somehow manages to sleep and be completely alert at the same time, but they are always in that state of the present moment that is so elusive to us human beings.

When you’re around a cat, you also temporarily go into that Zen state with them and enter their world of bliss. Want to learn how to meditate? Spend a lot of time with your cat and you’ll discover all you need to know.

Going to the Squirrels?

We have an ongoing problem with squirrels as do most people in our neighborhood. Whenever we fill up the bird feeder, the resident squirrel makes his appearance shortly thereafter and performs all kind of acrobatic stunts to try to get at the birdseed. I've seen him hanging upside down, hanging on to the bird feeder and swinging with it like a rodent version of Tarzan and engaging in many more Cirque Du Soleil-like feats. This morning I was really not in the mood for his antics so I took a little red (soft rubber) ball that my sister had bought for my niece when they were visiting a few years ago and threw it at the squirrel, while yelling and gesturing. I'm sure I made a pretty sight in my blue bathrobe.

In the process of doing so, I suddenly realized that Callie, my mom's cat had disappeared and in a moment of panic I thought she had left the premises. I blame the squirrel for ruining what could have been a peaceful morning, but according to a video of Pema Chodron that I recently saw on You Tube titled Troublemakers, people or things who make life difficult for you are actually good for you. The way I interpreted her lecture is that they help you to get a "birds eye" view of yourself that, while not always pleasant, can be enlightening.

p.s. One positive note: I saw a beautiful red cardinal and a black and white woodpecker briefly appear after shooing the squirrel away.