It was 2:20 a.m. and it sounded like a cannon going off when it hit. The whole house shook. We were in the middle of an ice storm and a massive limb from a massive tree fell on my house.
Now, this tree has always been showered with love and care, yet one of its big arms broke off and hit my house. The damage wasn’t too bad, and I have insurance. But it made me think about cause and effect.
Recently I’d been feeling a vague sense of unease. I’d see pictures of bombed out cities in Ukraine and think “I can’t imagine how that would look here.“ And when three students were shot dead at Michigan State University, with five more critically injured, I then thought, “It really can happen anywhere.“
Yet, I typically don’t dwell on the news. I don’t watch TV or listen to the radio. But I do have email subscriptions to five different newspapers – just to keep in the loop. Or so I thought.
In the Text we are told the story of the little garden and fence we build around ourselves to keep from becoming One with all. We nurture our garden to keep ourselves safe. It doesn’t work – with trees or ourselves.
And yet, we do need a garden and we do need a fence. We need a fence around the garden of our thoughts. Jesus tells us, “You do not guard your thoughts at all carefully.” (CE.T.2.X.9.1) And, you are “alone in nothing.” Everything you “think or say or do teaches all the universe.” (CE.W.54.4.3)
And so, I unsubscribed from every news source. It might not have helped save my tree, but it just might help to save the world.