ZERO DEGREES OF SEPARATION

    I got a number of responses to the piece I wrote in this space last week, about the experience of living without heating or cooking for a couple of days, in the middle of a South Texas cold front.

    Two of them were particularly interesting. One was from a relatively new online friend, Jo, who lives in an isolated cabin in northern Minnesota, just a few miles from the Canadian border, where the temperature was 28 degrees below zero - and that's without the wind-chill factor! The other note was from my long-time, long distance friend, Connie, who lives in a historic stone cottage in the highlands of Scotland, where indoor temperatures hovering in the 50's are just a fact of daily life for much of the year.

 

TWO VOICES

     Both wrote to thank me for reminding them of something that they already knew, but which they found helpful: that "cold" is mostly a state of mind, and that there's great power in choosing to feel peace, wherever we are and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

     The interesting thing is that their responses arrived five days apart, from separate sides of the globe, but each landed in my inbox at the perfect time, just as I was wrestling with some circumstances that had me feeling temporarily flummoxed. I won't bore you with the details of the situations involved, because they really don't matter.

 

NEW CHOICES

     Suffice it to say that, once again, I was caught up in trying to slay imaginary dragons - when, PING!  Here was a timely, thoughtful greeting from Jo, thanking me for reminding him about the power of making conscious choices. But, in fact, his note came tapping me on the shoulder at just the right moment, inviting me to look up from my computer, glance up at the bright, blue sky and see beyond the self-imposed limitations of my current situation into the possibility of making a new choice.

     And then, four days later, it happened again. Another dragon, another exquisitely timed reminder from Connie. Once again, the boundaries of time and space melted, and the note she wrote with the intention of acknowledging my support arrived at the perfect moment to support me instead. Amazing how that works!

 

YOUR CHOICES

     Here's hoping that you, too, are feeling loving and loved, being supportive and supported, choosing to bless and being blessed by your willingness to see beyond the illusions of separation and limitation.

With gratitude and wonder,

      Rudi