I was working on my thesis all day. What kept me going was the thought of sinking into the hot tub at the Aquatic Centre late afternoon and getting a good shoulder massage with the powerful jets. But when I got there, the hot tub was semi-disabled. There was a “substantial leak” in the pipes, said the sign, which the jets might aggravate. Disappointing, but I still enjoyed the soak in a tub of hot water. As I sat there, I was reminded of the time my brother was debating whether or not to buy a hot tub for his deck. It was an expensive purchase, but of course there was a deal. I had recently given him a copy of Eknath Easwaran’s Words to Live By. The morning he had to make his decision, he opened the book and read the entry below. I figured he would cool his jets on the hot tub. I was wrong. He bought it. In honor of his birthday, I repost it here.
How sweet it is to love, and to be dissolved, and as it were to bathe myself in thy love.
– Thomas a Kempis
In these times, a common prescription for a day packed with troubles is to go jump in your hot tub. Relaxation starts immediately; for a time, at least, the body is at peace.
Now imagine a hot tub for the mind. That is what meditation is; it can bathe your mind in peace. This requires a lot of practice, but when you have learned to jump in the hot tub of meditation at the end of a day, instead of rehashing problems with your co-workers or downing a double martini, you can close your eyes, start in with an inspirational passage, and let the accumulated tensions of the day dissolve. – Eknath Easwaran, Thought for the Day