This morning I overheard a conversation and in response to the usual question of ‘How are you?’ the person answered, “Well, I’m having a ‘keep the kirtan going all day kind of day’.” In other words, I’m not great and I’m going to need some kirtan shelter.

Not only was he able to express that all was not well, but also what he was going to do to help him cope. They both shared a laugh at the notion of ‘that kind of day’ and that too helped lessen the pressure.

Where do we go and what do we do for shelter and for relief? Growing up my mother’s remedy was to ‘go to bed early with a hot orange drink’. Believe it or not, that still works for me – be it the power of habit or the faith in a mother’s love. Rest is something that can help us cope and things always look better after a good night’s sleep. 

For many, a good japa walk can help work out an ‘unbalanced kind of day’. Well, good japa alone can do that, but a walk outdoors with our beads can really be freeing and energizing. We have both the power of sound and the power of movement.

The main thing is to recognize when stress is bearing down, in small and big ways, and to have a plan to move it through our system. Whether it’s kirtan, or reading, or bed early, or walking or cooking or cleaning – know what works for us, and go have that ‘kind of day’. When we can step back and recharge in this way, the world, and our own head and heart, will thank us for it.