Life seems to be filling itself with extremes in the last few weeks.

Last week brought extreme cold to much of the Midwest. Lake Michigan is currently holding at 35° with a windchill of -38°. The lake was literally a warm bathtub comparatively, thus creating its own weather system known as marine clouds.

This past weekend, my son and I raced to the lake to watch the sun rise. The lake was so still you could see the “ice pancakes” form and the gentle lapping of the waves made the water sound slushy. After over a week of subzero temperatures, the 20℉+ felt warm and inviting.

Fast forward a few hours to another spot on the lake and the waves were crashing so violently, that the large ice sheets had broken and it sounded like glass shattering. In fact, the waves were seeming to move in slow motion as they pushed piles of shattered ice onto the frozen ledge.

In life, we have also been living in extremes. It was a week where we packed in more than we should. There were too many late nights, followed by early mornings, by Saturday we were all exhausted. The endless bombardment of the news cycle has kept me focused on an extreme I never thought possible, and with it emotions that can’t seem to be turned off.

When the cold temperatures dropped, all we could do was hunker in and ride it out. But with the turn in temperatures, we experienced a contrast so sharp that our new norm for what is cold has been recalibrated. Our expectation of what is cold has a new meaning. We experienced the contrast.

Culturally, we are facing an extreme. We are experiencing a contrast that is so sharp, what we can expect from people has been recalibrated. Just as the extremes of weather calibrate a new norm for me, I want to watch with open eyes the world around me and not let the actions of a few, also become the new norm. I choose to live in a state of conscious awareness of what our country and world must face to feel the warmth that will return again.

As we observe and watch, we must see experience and acknowledge what are the extremes that push us to new levels of consciousness. But even from our coldest moments, the warmth will come again.

This Week’s A Door Within:

* How do I experience contrast?

*How does life feel in the extreme?

* What does it take me to change?

♥ Ashley

extreme

discomfort

A Door Within