“A poor idea well written is more likely to be accepted than a good idea poorly written.”
~ Isaac Asimov.
As I start writing this post, it occurs to me that it is the latter that will be applicable in my case.
A friend of Indian origin who lives overseas has a younger brother who suffers from dementia. He is lucid at times and not most of the time. He has been admitted to a home where other persons with dementia are boarded and looked after by a panel of psychiatrists and trained personnel. The brother’s immediate family has abandoned him and the only person in touch with him is his daughter from an earlier marriage, also living overseas. Whenever she talks to him she promises to come and take him away with her. This has been going for quite some time.
I was requested by my friend to visit the brother and find out how he is which I gladly did a few days ago. Before I could go to the home, we had to get an appointment and so the staff had told the brother that someone was coming to see him. When I landed up in his room, he was most disappointed because he had imagined that his daughter was coming to take him away. He had packed all his stuff and got ready to go and it was heart breaking for me to disappoint him. Imagination played havoc with him!
I spend about seventy five minutes every morning sitting in our veranda with my morning tea and japa. The mind being what it is, it often strays and goes off into tangents and while the mental chanting keeps mechanically going on, the mind usually goes off into a different realm altogether and I have to bring it back to the present with some effort.
This is normal as my teachers have repeatedly informed me and regular practice will eventually bring it under control which will be of benefit for both the japa exercise and meditation. Imagination playing spoilsport with me too!
I would like to close this post with a very powerful short film The Egg to demonstrate what human imagination can do with such a medium. Do please spend the 12 odd minutes that it will take to watch it till the end. You will like the message.
In the new year, an old LBC blogger will be rejoining us and I welcome Maria the gaelikaa to the group. This week’s topic for the LBC blog post has been suggested by me. You can see to the other three views at Maria, Pravin and Shackman at their respective blogs.