NAMASTE

There is a Hindu word that is used frequently to show a respectful hello or goodbye. The word is Namaste, and it best can be described as the word peace. Every now and then I seek out a peace that would not find me otherwise.

In the early morning when everyone is off to work or still asleep, on my patio in and around the pool, I sit quietly and listen to the symphony of Mother Nature’s origin, the sound of silence. It is a wonderful tonic in itself, it gives me a chance to think about all the things I’ve taken for granted and how much I have made my life harder by believing what others told me. It seems we all do that and it is the constant source of our unhappiness.

As I look about into the trees and the calm sky, the absence of even a breeze, the sound of silence becomes even louder. The struggle of the common ant, building a home or bringing home a meal as he carries it on his back, the swooping of a sparrow as he lands on my fence, showing off his natural abilities, the trust of a rabbit that lives on my property and now doesn’t flinch if I go near him, it is Namaste, it is peace.

Then my mind races to places where I wish to be, people I want to see, things I like to do, and I set aside all that unhappiness that escorts us through our everyday lives, those telling us we need to follow some ideology, be it political or religious, or we will perish. Yet I can seek Namaste and know it is the true relief of the times, it shuts away the hypocrites, the naysayers and the blasphemers that use God as a means of proving their worth to Him by their false proclamations, because they don’t practice what they preach.

The biggest gift God has given me is the gift to be myself, to believe what I think is important and not what someone else thinks I should believe. I put that aside and feel Namaste, I think: that is a gift; God is good.

I know there are people in this world who are sincere in their beliefs and I say Namaste, and there are people who wear tattoos, rings in their body and comb their hair otherwise than what is expected, who do the right thing, live in peace and I say Namaste, you are real. There are others who dress so very carefully, with maybe a suit or fine dress, who behave like slaves to what they are told is the right thing, never questioning what is the right thing, to them I can only wish Namaste, I hope they can find it within their own souls.

My wife is a good example of a non-judgmental person, who has her beliefs and never in my time living with her has ever questioned mine. She is a good example of what I am saying. Her religious belief is in her heart, and not on her lips except in silent prayer. She has instilled that in her children and I wonder how someone with such tragedy in her life has withstood the pain and kept her faith in God, but she has! I learn from her that the only one I need to concern myself about is: me.

Namaste