COMPARING

     My sister and brother live in Santa Cruz on the California coast. The weather there has been 68-72 and sunny for the past three months. Here in Minnesota it snowed again last night and the temp may get up to 10 or 15 degrees. When I think about this I am tempted to feel sad. The mind is always comparing and judging. Good for me or bad for me, better than or worse than. The mind of the Minnesotan tries to justify cold snowy winter weather. It's beautiful in a kind of white, non-warm way. It's stimulating and bracing and really wakes you up. 
    The mind does its thing, and always has. You talk to yourself, commenting on your progress or your problems. Rationalizing and scheming. Giving yourself pep talks or dressing yourself down like an angry parent. And yet, the weather is cold or warm, sunny or white-out snowy. Your breath is coming in or going out. And you are sitting on your one and only butt, no debate about that. And your heart is beating warmly just like your California siblings. And your soul, your deepest real Being, is shining quietly and radiantly, like the souls and Beings of everybody everywhere.