SPIRITUAL ESSENCE

We're up earlier than usual, cuz Cuddy has a 9 a.m. appointment at the puppy spa.  His groomer will give him a bath and a mani-pedi.  His owners prepaid the groomer, so we're able to decide when to take him in for a spiff-up.  The temperature today is forecast to reach the 40s, so it'll be a perfect day for an outing. 

Just like with our Emma, Daddy Dale will accompany Cuddy to the appointment and stay with him, while I stay in the car and read/study/take notes from the book on Resilience.  It's a masterful read so far as life knowledge goes.

My daily devotional Tao book arrived in the mail on Monday.  A recent discovery of information is making it necessary for me to pull out all stops to stay on my personal mental path.  This Taoism book was ordered before the revelation, so this is another proof of the Divine Plan that's playing the background music to each of our lives.  

The sentence I highlighted from yesterday's reading is, "We alone must make something of ourselves, transforming ourselves into the instruments for experiencing the deepest spiritual essence of life."  

What is spiritual essence?  "Your spiritual essence is the peace that resides in your mental space.  Finding your spiritual essence means taking the authority over your life.  No one has the right to control or manipulate you.  It means making a conscious decision to walk in the light, away from the darkness of confusion, low self-esteem, indecision, heartbreak and disappointment." 

Each of us carries a load of heartbreak and disappointment.  How we deal with it is the business of taking authority over our thoughts.  This can feel impossible, and many times it is.  That's why it's a baby step at a time.  My mind right now feels like it's been battered unmercifully with a baseball bat.  With the help of the Tao mindset, I will live each moment searching for my spiritual essence.

On a sadder note, isn't Turkey's earthquake situation pitiful?  I usually watch Agenda-Free News on YT, and last night he was showing short videos taken from people at the scene.  As of this morning, I think Dale said 14,000 are known dead and thousands injured, with thousands buried beneath the rubble.  How does one pray for so many?  A baby was rescued with an umbilical cord still attached to its dead mother.  Another video showed the baby in the hospital nursery with diapers on, and the baby has visible bruises.  Imagine the life story the baby will have to tell, if she lives.

One way to search for one's spiritual essence is by thinking about others.  When we feel like we're treading through a swamp, it helps to refocus on the unmerciful suffering that others are enduring.  I recently learned that my cousin visited Turkey last year.  Imagine if she would have delayed her trip until this year.  

When I learned of the 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, I immediately wrote a note to my beloved surgeon who hails from Lebanon inquiring if his family was okay.  Received a note back saying that Lebanon was hit, but his family was okay.  This surgeon is now a Professor at Harvard in Boston, yet he takes time to quickly answer my messages.  His FB shows him having over 4,000 friends, but he is kind enough to take time for me.  There has got to be a bit of spiritual essence involved.  

The rising sun casts amazing blends of blue and pink in the eastern sky.  A covering of snow adds to the "pretty" of it.  Meteorologists tell us we might get a few inches of snow tonight.  I can only cross my fingers.