Packing

I am currently sitting in my Aunt's place after a tiring day traveling around Bangalore by auto rikshaw shopping for last minute items. WHEW! But even coming home to my Aunt's place is no reprieve because surrounding me is all my luggage and all the items I still need to pack... :S Blah!

I hate packing...both my belongings and this trip. It signifies so many things for me both symbolically and practically. Most of all it signifies change. Change is always slightly scary and totally unpredictable. We never know what is going to come. More scary for me is the realization that everything that happens can ultimately benefit me, it's just up to me to make use of all opportunities that Krsna sends my way. That realization is a significant and sobering one.

No more can I complain and just say that it had to happen that way. Krsna sends us different situations according to our past karma, but we still have the free will to decide what we will do in those situations.

So I guess I'm also hoping that in the midst of this packing, I can also pack up my own misconceptions and bad attitudes and throw them out. Because that's also part of packing, as I'm beginning to realize due to my overweight luggage problem! Packing just doesn't just mean an end, it also means new beginnings that (hopefully!) will be free of anything that weighs us down unnecessarily.

So as I now sit down in my room and begin to pack and try to get rid of whatever I don't need, I'm praying that I can also see this as a new chapter of my life. A chapter of new beginnings, new attitudes, implementing all the new things I've learned and sharing all the gifts and mercy that I've been given.