Eknath Easwaran's Commentary
There are some who like to imagine themselves as pilgrims moving among the deer on high forest paths, simply clad, sipping only pure headwaters, breathing only ethereal mountain air. To meditate, we needn’t drop everything and undertake an ascent of the Himalayas or Mount Athos or Cold Mountain. It may not sound glamorous, but you can actually do better right where you are.
Your situation may lack the grandeur of those austere and solitary peaks, but it could be a very fertile valley yielding marvelous fruit. We need people if we are to grow, and all our problems with them, properly seen, are opportunities for growth. Can you practice patience with a deer? Can you learn to forgive a redwood? Trying to live in harmony with those around you right now will bring out enormous inner toughness.