Tags
cynicism, detachment, faith, Humor, parody, shoe stealing, temples, trust
“Free yourself from attachment to material objects of pleasure. It is the key to Nirvana, to peace, to realization,” the orator’s voice boomed.
My mind was divorced from my ears. It stealthily flew to my brand new pair of shoes. Why did I just have to wear them today?
‘’Don’t fret. They are safe,” my fingers reassured me. They curled firmly around the token given by shoes-stand employee.
I sighed with relief and once again became all ears.
“Faith. Trust. Detachment.” droned on the orator.
P.S- 1] Why are worship places the commonest ground to lose shoes?
2] Raise your hand if you’ve stationed someone beside your shoes while you entered the holy arena.
3] Cynical and flippant I may well be today, but isn’t there a grain of truth hidden here?
4] No, I have yet to lose my pair of shoes. Have you ever been a bakra aka victim of this heinous crime against mankind’s wide eyed trust?
5] Which Sherlock Holmes tale had ‘one stolen shoe’ as an important clue to the ensuing crime?
Impractical Dreamer: Sweety Shinde 
in my spiritual community I love how standing outside the entrance there are rows of flip-flops and purses – as we go in bare of feet to practice. Part of it is to keep the floors of the space clean, I suppose. But I love the visual of ugg boots and flip flops and recyclable grocery bags and yoga mats. That we who sit together also go out into the world and live life.
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Yes, there certainly is peace in uniformity.
Or maybe, as you said, its a message to keep all your personal worries outside when you come in to meditate.
I didn’t know all spiritual communities have this shoes-off policy in common. In fact, if I remember right, there’s a sentence in ‘Fountainhead’ by Ayn Rand where she describes Howard Roark (protagonist – an architect). She speaks of his extreme regard for architecture as ‘He thinks people should take off their shoes and kneel down when they speak of architecture.’
I guess the world’s a small space.
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I have also heard of traditions in which people go in w bare feet so they can be blessed. Love that idea too!
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Yes, we do that when we seek blessings from God or from elders in the family. Its very ingrained in Indians.
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Great quote by Hemingway… that was an awesome choice, indeed… best wishes. Aquileana 😀
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Yes, our choices define us. Have a happy weekend!
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Ha ha. I have never lost ( or gained) a footwear at a holy place. Whenever I am faced with an unattended shoe stand, I always put each shoe away from each other. So only a one legged man finds my offering attractive, and even there I have a 50% chance of the wrong foot
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you know what Dada did,Sunil? He lost 1 chappal getting into a train/bus. So quick as thought, he took off his other chappal and threw it out the door, saying ‘Atleast the lucky person will find both members of the chappal pair, instead of both of us left with only one.’ He was one in a million!
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the Attachment that is keeping everything together; right from electrons in an atom to planets in a galaxy and many different galaxies in the Universe. So there can be never be any Detachment, otherwise everything would have been drifting away.
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Well, if Hb and O2 did not detach after attaching, we’d b in deep trouble. Ditto for HbCO2, unlike HbCO.
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Great quotes. Trust…such an issue for me. Hate giving it but do so far, far too much…
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Hmm, yes. The clean conscience often trusts far too much and far too often. In a perfect world, such a conscience would never need to learn betrayal – or disillusionment.
But in this imperfect world …
I read a beautiful line somewhere, which said, ‘Pain is the abyss between expectation and reality.’
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Yes, wise words. For me I’d say better to feel pain than feel nothing at all for to feel is to know one is alive.
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Pain … should be a stepping stone. Ayn Rand said, ‘Pain should never be enshrined.’ So, I’m all for pain as a stimulus, as a kick towards action.
In B. Gita, Krishn calls this mortal world as ‘Dukhalaya’ = an abode of misery. Yet, we try our level best to glean out moments of happiness.
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Completely agree 🙂
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