Start From Right Now

I was planning to go with Guru on a trip to London and Paris, where he was giving concerts. It was to be my first trip with Guru and all the arrangements had been made, but unfortunately my passport was at my parents' home and for various reasons I was unable to retrieve it. I spent the entire day before the trip trying to get a new passport. The passport office in New York had only to make one telephone call to verify my place of birth and my passport would have been finalised. However, that particular Friday they were remarkably uncooperative, and the call was put off until Monday morning. This meant that I would have to leave for London on a later flight, and that I would miss Guru's concert at Royal Albert Hall. To say I was heartbroken would be an understatement, but there was nothing I could do. I tried not to be upset, but the experience was draining. When I finally arrived in London, an English disciple took me to the hotel where everyone was staying. Guru was waiting for me in the lobby. "So," he said, "What happened to you?" I answered that I had had passport problems. "Forget everything," he said, "Start from right now." In no time, the pain of the experience was gone and I spent every moment as happy as I ever would have been had the whole misfortune not taken place.

Bhikshuni (New York)