It's All Relative

My bed is small, but I rest at ease,
My clothes are thin, but my body is warm,
My food is scarce, but I am nourished. - Milarepa in the Zen Calendar (November 4, 2006).

Day 97. Peak Experience! The dinosaur was particularly cranky tonight -- I assume because of the storms and power outages. I have become such a techie that I got it booted with only one brief call to the teenager. I am feeling triumphant!

I am also feeling extraordinarily lucky. Sometimes karma circles around faster than an Oklahoma funnel cloud in May. Because it sounds like so, huh, Middle-Aged Republican White Male (the worst of all demographics!) to explain that I have two houses, I haven't mentioned it on my blog. But, huh, I sort of have two houses. The one I've lived in for 17 years in Norman with my son, and the one I share with my partner in eastern Oklahoma county. It sounds more glamorous than it is. In truth, no matter which house I lay down in at night, it never seems to be the one where I have a clean bra and underwear. Go figure.

Back to the lucky part. In the midst of the storms, hail, and tornadoes that besieged the metro earlier this evening, both houses were spared. A tornado touched down a mile from the Norman home, and a half-mile from the Oklahoma City home. We lost power at the OKC home, and there are probably some hail divots in the roof, but right down the road there was some serious structural damage. White Light to the residents in that vicinity. The beloved Love's Store on I40 near our neighborhood was reportedly leveled. White Light to the business owners and customers there at the time. My office manager called to say they lost all three of their vehicles to the baseball-sized hail in Moore. White Light to Shari and her family. I am just learning of reports of other tornado damage, and will soon take to my cushion to send White Light there as well.

I recognize the narcissism in interpreting these storms as Karmic challenges to my narcissism, but I'm taking the liberty anyway. I want to be proportionately compassionate towards myself for the return of my compromised adrenal symptoms. Simultaneously, I want to be receptive to cosmic reminders that suffering, like all worldly phenomenon, is relative. I have an intact home, a dry bed, food in my belly, and (though ancient and cranky) a working computer on which to compose my blog. Several friends called to check on my well being. There is much to be grateful for.

I am even appreciative of my attention deficit hard-wiring. When my mind is like a gnat in a crosswind, it's unlikely that any given mood state will last for long. Yeah, Impermanence! Yeah, Mindfulness and the healing properties inherent to feeling and expressing care for others. Yeah, new compounding pharmacy, which is clearly more adept at filling the confusing prescriptions written by my non-traditional though Western health care provider than the chain drugstore I was previously using. Yeah, me, for blogging through the rotten times. Yeah, Dear Readers, for reading through the rotten times. We all Rock!

I never dreamed that the skyward "circulation" that Oklahoma is notorious for at this time of year could also swirl things around in my head. Then again, from the first day I resumed sitting zazen, I frequently have sensations of "This isn't Kansas anymore." Gassho to the cosmos for recalibrating the yardstick of my perception. With due regards to the knowledgeable compounding pharmacist at Doctor's Park, deepest Gassho to Humility, Gratitude, Acceptance, Impermanence. That is where true healing lies.

Gassho,
CycleBuddhaDoc