Well, it's been two nights of beyond cold and me and the cat are here to tell about it. You can't ask for more than that - right? Well, that's all I'm asking for right now. The worst is over, for at least a few nights and barring no new cold fronts - yea!
As always in these situations I ask myself, what are the take away lessons? What can I learn from this experience that will make the "next time" better? The short answer - insulation is EVERYTHING! The extreme cold made the question about where am I leaking air and losing heat very clear. And, while I can't fix everything, at least I understand what the problems are a lot more clearly.
But the spiritual clarity is always the real answers I seek and during this time I got quite a bit. What struck me as so interesting was how the heater was working against the cold…trying to push out its heat while the cold was trying to push in on everything else. It was classic physical world metaphor - you can't fight the cold, just increase what is emanating from within you….be it peace, love, warmth, or all that is good. You can't fight the cold, but you can radiate the heat….uncomfortable, but a great example of how we change the world from within ourselves.
But what I really want to share is the only thing that is of value here - the idea that is at the basis of why we are even in this world trying to learn its lessons. The only thing I really cared about was if Lilith was okay. It was the only real thought each time I would wake up and check the temperature to see if we'd passed a threshold I needed to be concerned about.
The only thing that really matters is the well-being of who I love and have taken responsibility to care for. Buried under the covers I had lots of time to think this morning and looking at Lilith watching me it occurred to me that I was only really watching for her…not the trailer or any of the stuff inside of it.
How do you share with others that the whole point to this existence is really just that simple? The Course in Miracles says that it is when we join with another without separate interests of our own that we have finally understood who we are and why we are here. For a long time I didn't really get that idea….but lately it's been clear that the point is, when we act for the benefit of our own ego at the cost of another's well-being we are really headed in the wrong direction.
In the Bible Jesus makes this same point when he says there is no greater gift than to lay down our own life for another. Our body is not who we are and our ego is not the true source of life he is talking about. The real point is when we stop living our lives at the cost of someone else living theirs, well, then we are really living.
I'm including in what follows two opposing examples of this idea. One in which a lion rescues her cub at risk to herself and another where teens risk the lives of others by their hatred of themselves. Hate is after all just us projecting our own self loathing out into the world and giving it a name other than our own.
It's not rocket science to know what each story brings forth within you. So the question then is, which type of "heat" are you burning in your own spirit to share with the world? The heat that is love or the heat that is peace?
An example of where fear conquers love:
An example of when love conquers fear:
The dramatic rescue, captured by wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot,
was played out in Kenya ’s Masai Mara game reserve.
was played out in Kenya ’s Masai Mara game reserve.
I am glad to report that Lilith did just fine - she has an amazing ability to curl into the warmest corners of my bedding that more closely resembles a pile of laundry than a bed that has been made….but the layers work for both of us and right now warmth is more important than a pretty package.
It's important to face our fears in times of safety and in times of great danger - they are both just one more example for us to learn this lesson that what we value is the life that keeps us warm within and not the fear we perceive pushing in on us.
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