The barn’s burned down – now I can see the moon

No one WANTS their barn to burn down! That’s crazy talk! Anyone can guess at why without ever having lived on a ranch or a farm. It’s where the folks who live on the land keep the important stuff. The barn is definitely NOT something they want to lose to a fire. It’s necessary for everything else to work. It’s property. It’s equity. It’s valuable. It supports their livelihood.

It friggin’ matters!

But there it is, on fire. It’s in the middle of the night and you are catapulted into crisis mode. Throwing buckets of water, calling 911, trying to free wild-eyed and loudly terrified animals, or rescuing valuable equipment risking your own life because this just can’t be happening. It’s GOT to STOP! WE NEED THE BARN! It sustains us. It’s part of the package. It is the only way we know to make our life work. WE WILL DIE WITHOUT IT!

In our lives there are many “barns”, things we don’t want to lose. Things we believe we must have to not only survive but to thrive. Things we value, things we work hard to preserve and cherish. Like our marriage, our health, our job, our loved ones, our status, our memory and even our perspective. All of these we value to varying degrees at different stages and ages in our lives but there are times in life when the barn catches fire and even burns down to the ground and then we have to deal with the divorce, the cancer diagnosis, a job loss, an untimely move, the death of a loved one, a paradigm shift in thinking, etc.

And then we get to choose. We ALWAYS get to choose, but these moments highlight this option better than any other others. They are like near-death experiences. They can wake us up to a new way of being and a new way of seeing. Or they can be the moment we choose to relive in horror every day of our lives afterwards.

We can focus on the ash and debris and gnash our teeth and rock back in forth in pain as we sift through the charred rubble or we can look up and notice the moon. Observe that there is now more light. It’s not day’s light, but now unobstructed so much more is visible with it’s manila light shining through where the barn used to be.

And we can see the moon and remember the Divine. God. Buddah. Allah. Providence. Universe. Whatever name you use. It’s there. And now you can see it. Because now you NEED it. Because what you thought you needed, is flat gone. Over. Burned. Crispy.

And this is the jumping off spot to something new. Or not. But this is undoubtedly where your choices and your free-will to choose will be highlighted like no other time. But only if you lift your head up to see the moon. If you choose to focus on the rubble or are curled in a fetal position, you will not notice the glowing orb above you. But it’s there beckoning you to your new life, to new possibilities and to more of everything you ever thought you wanted or deserved.