I am truly fortunate

This morning, as I sat tucked up benieth my cows flank, listening to the gentle sounds of the milk hitting the pail, the morning doves cooing, the myna birds cawing and the two cows enjoying their breakfast,  I realized how fortunate I am. My life is simple and uncomplicated. Sometimes I am going at helter skelter speed, I get stressed out, I start bickering at my kids and snapping at my husband. i have mornings like this one, and I have to stop and ask myself, "what is my problem!?" This life is not to be wasted in anger or frustration!  This life is fragile, like a water drop on a leaf, at any moment it can fall off, as at any moment our lives can be finished. Shall i waste it in irritation at lives little trivialities, forgetting my eternal position as a loving servant of the Lord? 

 This year i am following Caturmasa, a 4 month period of fasting from different foodstuffs, like tomatoes, eggplant, and honey and each month I am following a fast from specific things for that month. This month is leafy greens, next month yogurt, then milk and then sesame. In these summer months all those wonderful vegetables are in abundance! The opportunity to eat them is endless! I am always shocked at how much of those things that i eat! Question is, why am I doing it at all?  Each time that I stop myself from eating these things, every time I stop and say," Oh yeah! Its caturmasa!", I remember the Lord of sweetness, He who gives to me everything I need, just enough so that i may not forget who I am dependent upon. It is a sacrifice I make so that I may not forget. It gives me a chance to quietly  contemplate that dependence, to fast my senses on their quest for never ending gratification and to be reverently grateful for the opportunity to lesson my desire for things of this material world.

So, in this day I will give my thanks to my divine spiritual master, who gently guides me, lovingly and correctly. He is wise and self composed he is fee from the agitation of the mind, the onset of anger, the vehemence of the tongue the urge of the belly and agitation of the genitals.  In His example I will follow with the best of my abilities. i pray with His mercy i may overcome the faults that keep me from loving the Lord with all my heart.