Fences build good neighbors

I have a neighbor.  He is an odd duck, a rare breed, a horse of another color.  He is a man of his word and he is a man of faith (in these times both are rare).  He is one who religiously follows his chosen path. He lives it and it shows.  He is a man with a good heart and a strong back.  Ask him and he will tell you that he is your spiritual brother.  Ask him and he will gladly give you a hand up.

 Mortality arises!

Yesterday I went out to help my neighbor put up a snow fence alongside our road.  Of course the fact that the conditions were the kind that were "nearly impossible and certainly down right crazy to even think of putting up a snow fence" sort, didn't seem to deter either of us.   For all of his admirable qualities and my own humble blessings, we both were foolish!

I collapsed!  The physical exertion combined with the blistering cold and the brutally harsh sunlight on the snow was enough to send me to my knees!  I knelt trying to just breathe and center self, look at the crystal sky, the pure mountains, and feel oddly grateful to be there then.  To experience that moment.  And to know that I was safe.  That my neighbor would take care of me in my time of need.  As each generation does for those who preceeded.  Just as I help steady my father-in-law as he navigates these last days of his journey in this life, so could I allow myself to lean back, feel safe, and know I could rest my trust in the heart of my neighbor.  That he would offer me a hand up!

Thought I'd die!  Maybe I did?  Some?  A little bit more realizing the impermanance of life, of this life, this "Doc Rob" life. Experiencing the cold stark truth of the feebleness of my body amidst the onslaught of those brutal conditions.  Experiencing this eddy in the mind "I" call  "me."  This conglomeration of whirling swirling spinning twisting particles of energy, light, and life that we ALL are a part of -- and all participating in that and in the "More" co and inter-mingling our energies my neighbor and I.

So, are we spiritual brothers you and I?  I think yes I think no.  I think the metaphor "brother" still clings to the illusion of separatness.  Concepts which emphasize separation impoverish the spirit.  I think as we learn to move beyond these concepts and see with more clarity, we no longer solidify reality.  In mindfullness, we learn to see life arising and passing, being present we can experience the life of body and mind as if in a continual flux, each breath a beginning and each an end.  Sharon Salzberg says:  " Without the rigidity of concepts, the world becomes transparent and illuminated as if lit from within. With this understanding, the interconnectedness of all that lives becomes clear.  We see that nothing is fully separate, that who we are, what we are, is intimately woven into the nature of life itself.  Out of this sense of connection, love and compassion arise."