Rainbows

"One who perseveres on the path of noncovetousness gains deep understanding of the meaning of life"

"aparigraha-sthairye janma-kathamta sambodhah"

                           Patanjali Yoga Sutra 11.39 

From: The Essence of Yoga by Bernard Bouanchaud

My grandmother, who, as I write this, is 100 yrs old! always used to say “the grass is never greener on the other side.”  She taught us to work diligently and honestly, and that no matter what it looked like we should always consider ourselves fortunate; there is always a rainbow in every situation you just have to look for it.

I have spoken to people in French and Spanish, and it seems every nationality understands the principle, and has somehow translated it.  I write about it today in light of two episodes that stand out from last week.

The first one is having a new television/Internet installation.  You basically have to set aside a block of 4 hours and wait.  Which I did.  The technician came at the late end of the spectrum, and we almost got off on the wrong foot with him saying he may not finish the job by the end of the shift at 9P.M. Hmmm, I said,  “I am sure you will do your professional best.”  This shifted the drama and he started to talk, while he worked until 11PM.  The part that is interesting is that I discovered he had immigrated to Quebec from Algeria to find a better life, away from political corruption.  In his home country, he was a licenced engineer and professor of engineering.  He speaks French and English.  He has tried to get work in his field unsuccessfully despite having taken a year to qualify according to our provincial standards.  He was on unemployment until he got this job.  He told me that several of his friends, doctors, are working in MacDonalds.  He has a good insurance package and can afford better living accommodations for his family, but still feels ashamed of this work, feels he is wasting all his intellectual abilities.  During the installation, I had to call for Internet support and my call was answered by a woman in India.  He said he couldn’t believe it when so many people need jobs here.  He had come to Quebec in pursuit of his dream, but is still making sense of this pasture.  Some of it looks the same as what he left, and his hopefulness waxes and wanes like the moon.  I suggested he came here for a reason and it is all still unfolding; retain hope, trust, faith...

The second episode is the passing of Whitney Houston, who I do not know personally, nor at this point am I in the know about what her set of circumstances were prior to her death.  Nonetheless, here is this celebrity who, in appearance, was about to perform for her peers at the Grammys, and who had a rather rocky, but rich and famous lifestyle.  We have seen this happen with other people in the media.  It can look quite glamorous but maybe the smiles fade off the camera, maybe there are pressures involved that outweigh some of the more public and put together moments.  We put celebrity on a pedestal, but they are human beings on a journey, same as anyone, albeit different circumstances.

While these two events are not related, they got me reflecting on my grandmother’s motto.  I think there is always a balance at play between what we have, wanting what we have, and wanting to better ourselves and/or circumstances.  There is also compassionate understanding and non-judgement, and the principle of a non-covetous attitude at work.   Not less important is making sure we really understand how green it is right where we are standing.  Stand where you are, and I hope you see your rainbow today.


Om shanty shanty shanty
Rana