The Obstacles on the Sidelines

We were going to Gurudwara yesterday and Aarushi would want to walk all the way from home to the Gurudwara.

While walking, she noticed that there was a patchy pavement on the side of the road. It was a challenge for her to walk on that pavement. It was made at different levels and was also fraught with pits and was dirty.

She enjoyed the challenge of walking on the ups and downs... We would guide her away from the pits, but she was happy that she was going up and down and exercising herself... She would squeak with excitement at every change of level she would successfully manage...

I realized that sometimes we also do it the same way... The road to our destination may be straight, but we enjoy the ups and downs life offers... We are happy about just managing those obstacles, while on the road there would have been a smooth walk...

We are not aware that we can get hurt... We are upset and cry loud when that happens, but we should realize, that if we focus on the final destination and walk on the path that God has built for us, we will face lesser obstacles...

The path will be smooth if we focus on the final destination... Little distractions and challenges may come on the sidelines, its our free will to either enjoy the ups and downs associated with them OR reach God faster... He has no problems in waiting :-)

Presence

I had to visit France for official purposes for about a week.

Aarushi was very upset when I was leaving. She is too small to realize the duration of my absence, just the very fact that I was leaving her side pained her and she was almost inconsolable.

However, from what I understand, 5 minutes, and she was playing with lemon trees and banana groves. She felt that I had gone to office and would return after some time...

We do it similarly... When we are blessed in the presence of God, say in meditation, or in the sense of self-realization, we feel bad initially... But pretty soon, we forget about the loss of contact... And in the back of our minds, we know that He is around and will be with us when we need...

However this separation was longer, and from what Surya tells me, Aarushi did not play tantrums when I was away and behaved like a good child :-)... She demanded less... Similarly, while in God's presence, we would demand anything - realizing that we are divine beings and that Everything is Possible, in His absence, we become more human and end up limiting our expectations and demands with physical limitations of a human being and a materialistic world...

When I returned, Aarushi was sleeping... However, when she got up, she could not contain her excitement and happiness for having met me again... She was very loving and would not leave my side through the day... I think that the same happens with us when we get back the same divine experience again... We want the experience of Presence to continue... But the daily routines take their toll again...

And I am not sure... But would it be right to say that God has given us distractions so that He can also get opportunities to explore new things and grow...