A delightful ten minutes later, I had managed to limp back to my seat on my stiff legs and reclaimed my seat.

But I was not able to enjoy it for long.

"Walking meditation."

Oh, my.

I loved walking meditations, but today was not the perfect day for anything involving moving.

Groaning, I forced the aching muscles of my legs to once more carry the full weight of my body.

Needless to say, it took me much longer than usually to cover the about fifty meters it took to get down to the court.

Which was why I ended up in the very back of the line of girls that started moving upon a nod of Guru's head.

During the slow, meditative walk across the court and towards Guru I focused within, to keep and strengthen the peaceful sensation flowing through my body.

I also tried to spot our Master, who was sitting in his reclining chair at his usual spot within the blue little hut at the far side of Aspiration Ground.

Of course, as everybody else was trying to do the same thing, it was rather difficult to actually catch a glimpse of Guru. But as experience had taught me that getting annoyed or impatient at the fact would only lower my consciousness and take away all my peace, I concentrated on being surrendered and grateful for the fleeting moments that I did manage to see him. With usually happened right before I reached the white line in the sand that served as a boundary of Guru's side of the tennis court and as a turn around point for our current walking meditation line of girls.

The third time walking towards Guru brought me right in front of him.

Guru did not smile.

Nor did he look at me – or anybody else – since he had already entered a deep meditative state as was obvious with the way his eyeballs were partially hidden by their lids.

During the first few minutes of the walking meditation, Guru had still looked at every girl passing him. But then I quickly reminded myself that how much I profited from a meditation never depended on outer circumstances, but solely on my own receptivity and state of mind.

After all, Guru was always aware of what was going on within each one of his disciples, as his meditative power and consciousness easily permeated the entire Aspiration Ground.

At this thought, joy lightly spread through my body, making me oblivious of its past-seven-miles' heaviness.

In fact, the thought crossed my mind briefly, my legs don't feel all that heavy... almost as if the stiffness were gone... Nah. That's probably just because I'm walking on even ground.

But when I reached the point where the walking-meditation line hit the stairs leading up to the bleachers on the boys' side and dispersed, I realized that the lightness in my body had been more than just a feeling born from a good mediation.

In order to test the realization, I started skipping up the steps.

Yup. No pain. All of a sudden, my legs were perfectly flexible once more.

Wow, I thought, deeply impressed. Guru must have taken away the stiffness during the meditation! And he did not even look at me. Which just goes to show...

The evening of that day, we had another set of races. And again, Guru asked for a seven hundred meter sprint and seven miles.

Which I won't describe in detail, because it was basically an exact repetition of the last day.

Including the pleasant time with my new running-partner Nilima, the stiffness in my legs and the miraculous recovery the next day after yet another walking meditation.

It seemed to me that Guru really wanted to make it exceedingly clear to me: 'If you do what you know and feel is right, than I shall take care of the rest.'

Afterwards, we only had a few shorter races.

Until one evening, the skies were against us. They conspired in form of a massive gathering of dark clouds releasing torrents of rain.

And when I say: torrents, I mean: torrents.

Within minutes, the streets around Aspiration-Ground turned into ankle-high rivers and we disciples, who had been about to leave the court and proceed to the track, looked at the deluge with one question on our minds: How on earth are we going to run in this kind of weather?

Rupantar, the one in charge of organizing the races, obviously felt the same and consequently called Guru to ask whether we should really proceed with the races.

Guru's answer: "Yes."

When he announced the news to the crowd, we all looked at one another, shaking our heads.

"Oh, my. We shall have to adopt new running-styles," I jokingly said to a girl standing next to me in the driveway to Aspiration-Ground.

"Indeed." she chuckled. "But if Guru thinks it's possible, there must be a way."

We all thought along those lines, which was why a few minutes later, a huge group of increasingly soaked looking people made their way to the Jamaica High School running track.

Because: what would have been the point in trying to protect ourselves against the elements when we were going to get wet anyway while doing the races?

Besides, the water in the streets already reached my knees and there was no escaping wet feet.

But since the temperature of the rain as well as the air was still fairly warm, I did not mind.

On the contrary: it was kind of fun splashing through the flooded streets and getting wet.

Very carefree.

I just had no idea how we were supposed to actually run a sprint or seven miles in those conditions.

When we reached the track, the water still reached up to my knees.

People all around me tried different running techniques, like kicking up their legs or power-wading through the water. Which was great fun for a few meters. But for seven miles...?

Just as the first heat was getting ready to try their luck, Guru's message came: 'The races are cancelled.'

Which elicited enthusiastic cheers from everybody, before the crowd quickly dispersed as everybody rushed to get home.

And dry.

***

"Do you like red?"

Confused, I looked at the smiling Nilima before me. Who was Red? Was I supposed to know that person? Possibly. But with my bed memory for names...

"Uhm... Red?"

"Yes, red. The colour red."

"Oh, red!" Now I felt really stupid. "Yes, I love red. It's my favorite colour, actually."

"Good." Nilima smiled even wider.

"Guru's coming!"

"Thank you for being my running partner," she quickly added, thrusting a colorful gift bag into my hands.

"Thanks!" I exclaimed, surprised at the unexpected gesture. But then we both had to hurry to our respective seats, like everybody else in the crowded assembly hall of PS86.

Once safely seated, I curiously opened the gift bag. To discover... a beautiful, red patterned sari! Complete with a matching blouse. Oh, Nilima!

As the hall went very quiet, Guru appeared in the doorway and we all rose in greeting, I couldn't believe how many blessings I had received by doing what I had felt was right: I had managed to conquer my irritating and also very powerful fear of running.

I had been blessed to experience Guru's healing power first hand.

I had been gifted with a beautiful sari.

And – last but not least – I had found a new friend in Nilima.

Hope you enjoyed the story :)

Oh, and a - slightly delayed - HAPPY NEW YEAR  for everybody.

May this year 2019 be full of happiness, light, blessings and health (!)!