sharpen tools for your heart and mind
Clouds have dominated our morning skies lately. It has been a blessing to get all the moisture but the clouds seem to make our days even shorter than the calendar would indicate. So waking up to a shimmering sky raises my spirits. The photo above is taken out my bedroom window. Great view for my morning meditation.
January always moves me to reflect. While reflection, in western culture, is a natural part of the year’s rollover, my birthday and the sheltering that comes with the cold and snow seems to drive the instinct further. First, I’m moved to clean and rearrange my stuff. In my world there is a lot of digital stuff to consider on top of the physical stuff. In preparation for our trip to Nepal, I tried to get rid of the physical accumulation; clothes, books, files, trinkets, electronics, and such. And with all our travel across the country, I’ve tried to continue to simplify the stuff. The digital is much more difficult to dive into. With gigabytes of photos and old backups (and duplicates), it is a minefield of sorting and culling.
Ever since my adolescents I’ve employed cleaning my physical world to straighten up my mental world. My young mind was over stimulated and sometimes splintered from rushes of hormones, brain growth, and relationships. On top of all that “normal” adolescent dynamics there was experimentation with states of consciousness – religious and chemical. Somehow, I always felt more grounded and at peace after a good purge and organizing.
My messy room is still a reflection of a distracted mind. While life isn’t as novel and over the top as when I was 16, I continue to find solace in outward order. In this solace, I settle in to the wisdom of my spiritual teachers. I can hear their instructions for looking beyond my relative, self-centered way of being. I realize that my inclinations toward grasping and my impulses to react are only one reality, not THE reality. These thoughts and emotions can be acknowledged without being engaged. This requires practice of course – a daily routine of mental hygiene 🙂
Letting go of stuff.
Fortunately we enjoy the benefits and can deal with the downsides that winter snow brings to Colorado. We haven’t been home a week yet but we’ve seen snow every day. Until today, the temperature hasn’t risen above freezing either – meaning it hasn’t been very messy either.
This afternoon we have been treated to a classic Colorado blue sky and a warm up. It is an opportunity to clean up the snow on the driveway. A good thing given our absence and the growing piles along the edge.
Tomorrow we might try our hand at cross country skiing. Gotta love it!
We rode into Glenwood Springs today. We had to choose our travel days carefully as storms (an atmospheric river) were rolling in from California. Seems the term atmospheric river has been around for a long time but is being used more regularly these days. Another will be following in a couple days. For us it required a close study of weather apps and traffic cameras.
Despite all the planning, we didn’t completely escape hazardous conditions. We started in fog and moved into snow over passes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. Just before crossing into Utah we came across blowing snow. Crews were actively building snow fences to mitigate the snow blowing. The right lane thankfully was mostly dry from traffic but the left was solid ice. I was surprised when a large white SUV quickly pulled up on my left going over 80 miles an hour. Even more surprised when they began to lose control and swerve toward me. I moved off into the shoulder just in time for them to totally lose control and flip 360 degrees behind me, off the highway and into the median. I am still replaying the scene in my head it was so unbelievable. A reminder of how vulnerable we can be on the road and how important it is the maintain 360 degrees of awareness.
It is great to be home again. Feels luxurious not to have to fiddle with the heat, stoke the fire, and adjust the electric wall heaters. We also don’t have to climb almost 100 stairs every time we go out. I say this knowing that the cabin would be luxurious to many; to people who don’t have a home at all and some who are just making ends meet. The change in levels of luxury provide me with a reminder to give thanks. Thanks for the opportunities and comforts we enjoy. We are blessed.
Within our days and our lifetime there are many things we aspire to accomplish. Long term goals and daily habits enter our mind and become wishes, hopes. While considering these future accomplishments we might picture ourselves basking in the light of enjoyment and/or completion. We might want to establish a discipline; of meditation, diet, weight loss, writing, music. We might picture ourselves in a home overlooking a lake, basking in the sun, finally in our dream location.
Goals and dreams are natural to many and can be useful for shaping our lives over time. They may never be accomplished but remain a regular fantasy throughout our days.
I believe the way in which we dream and fantasize has much to do with our accomplishment. If we want to take the goal further than the mind’s eye, there are some common pitfalls to consider. I am familiar with them from experience.
