obstacles

obstacles.
walking to work this morning, covering the same ground i have covered for a few years I stepped over the dip in the concrete for perhaps the thousandth time. it occured to me that the dip i have twisted my ankle in several times before is no longer an obstacle for me. i know it's there, approximately 40 steps away from one curb and 10 before the next. i thought how interesting that this piece of ground has just become part of the journey. then it got me thinking about obstacles and what they are where they come from. unknown future fears. saturn is the planet of fear. we pray to Lord Ganapati Ganesha to remove the obstacles in our way. I guess it is not important to know what the obstacles are, we just pray for their removal. And once we know what they are are they any longer an obstacle? like the dip in the road has become part of the path and does not present a problem anymore. it is the unknown uncertain future that alludes us and creates a fearful complex.
Amma says that we have divereted much more tragedy than we would have faced this year had we not been praying as much as we have. I've just heard that we are to increase our prayers still as there could be more trouble on the horizon. in fact, Christmas Day was mentioned. On the 23rd I go to LA to be with my Mother and then Father for the Holidays. on the 26th I return home and then board British Airways en route to India for two months. December 27th is the day saturn and mars are in an exact square to one another. Mars is moving forward pulling in that direction and saturn is retrograde pulling backward. these are difficult planets in a difficult position. So obstacles. I have some fear that I may never make it off the ground on the 27th. I have lined up many things for my departure so that would be a huge disappointment and of course i have a ticket that is non-everything, refundable, transferable, changeable, etc...so we will see. Mars is in my ninth house and saturn my twelfth so i think there can be an impact on foregin travel. had i more luxury of choosing another date to get on a plane, December 27th would not have been the date I would choose, but there it is. Gam Ganapataye namo namah.