Long Walks On Leafy Streets

11/25/2015 Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC
It is the eve of Thanksgiving in America and it is also the night of my birthday. Many thoughts and feelings have been running through me since I wrote the last time. During the past couple of weeks I have been very busy and much has happened. A classmate from my M.Sc class in I.I.T Madras that I hadn’t seen for more than two decades visited Washington for a week. I have been busy with classes as well as a research seminar. I also led a hike for the Sierra Club from Takoma to Wheaton, mostly on the Sligo Creek trail. My parents left after a three month stay and Nicole’s mother and brother are visiting for a couple of days. Prashant fell sick and has been running a fever the last couple of days. The Paris terrorist attacks have been on everyone’s minds.

So as you can see a lot has been going through my mind. To put it in a nutshell what has been keeping me centered and filling me with peace is mindfulness and feeling love within and love for all.
When you feel love within and express that to others there is nothing that can perturb you. But to do that first you have to be mindful. When the mind is running in a thousand directions it is hard sometimes to focus on that love. It takes a certain effort and willpower to be mindful, as well.

One thing I do feel that will take all the strength and depth of understanding that I can muster is my growing affection for Prashant. The more I care for him and the more I hold him in my arms the more I want to be there for him as he grows up, in this uncertain world. As much as statistics show that the world is actually becoming a better place in every possible way, there are also new dangers. There is the danger of climate change that looms bigger than everything else. Then there are the environmental damages happening due to all the chemicals that we are putting out in the atmosphere and on the earth. There are of course biological dangers. Finally there are the problems that humans have created, such as war, extreme inequality and exploitation. I worry about what will happen if I am not there for him.

In order to face this fear I need to dig deep into my spiritual practice. All the wisdom I have acquired from the teachings of the great ones such as the Buddha, Jesus, the Sufis and the Rishis of India will not be enough. I will need to practice them every day and make it part of my being. The more I practice and grow up the more I see how much I am lacking. It is a learning process, every day of my life.

What I can do right now is to simply enjoy every moment I have with him and be the best father and man that I can be. I also know I have the support and love of many in this process and Prashant will receive the same. I am grateful for having Nicole as my partner and his mother. I am grateful for our parents and siblings and their families for the love and caring that they have been showering upon us during this time. I am grateful for all the extended family and friends, especially those of the Sangha family of followers of Thich Nhat Hanh. I am grateful for all the wonderful people in the world working selflessly every day to make this world a better place. I am also grateful to the native Americans and African American slaves whose spirit and sacrifice has played a big part in making this land into what it is today.

Directory Previous