Listening to the wind

As I listen to the wind against the windows, it is both the same and different to the wind in Costa Rica. This wind is strong but my windows are not howling - merely shaking. This wind is harsh and cold and not soft and warm. Yet there is a sameness to it. It brings me back to this moment. The wind has been blowing for eons and will blow for eons, and yet it is here right now.

The idea helps soothe the mental and physical discomfort of leaving the sun and coming back to the cold. It grounds me in both the present moment and the impermanence of the shock to my system to be back home after several weeks away in the sun.

It is easy to get lost in the busyness (and cold) of coming back and forget that, while I miss the sun and my friends in the south, I am glad to be home. I can see the snow melting in the last few days—the glacier at the end of the driveway is almost gone, bits and pieces of my backyard are emerging again. I am looking forward to holding my grand-niece and nephew again and seeing the rest of my family again. I am looking forward to teaching and to reconnecting with my life here. All good things.

Yet the wind reminds me this is all just a blip in time. This will pass. I will pass. It reminds me to make the most of every moment!