An Introspection

I exited my house to check that the side gate was locked. I live in a place that is not usually cold, but can have its share of winter nights and mornings whose briskness would surprise newcomers. Tonight was the first which I noticed that crispness one feels when the temperature drops low enough. It's not freezing, but can still be called cold. It has a slight sting to the bare skin of the face, especially the nose and ears. It is also a moderately lit area, not urban, not completely rural -- while city lights do not block out the stars, only those middle to upper tier in their brightness are typically seen at night. That crispness of the air, coupled with the cloudless night sky dotted with stars tends to put me in a pensive mood.

I thought of Dante, and how he envisioned Hell as being colder the deeper one descended, since you would be increasing distance from God's light, which he equated to physical warmth like that of the Sun. And yet, in my current situation, I couldn't help but disagree, as the cold prompted me into a mind of seeking for divine things. What was different?

I noticed that I was properly clothed with a sufficiently-thick hooded sweater, pants, socks, and shoes, to meet the cold. I noticed the lights from the houses on the block to meet the darkness. And I thought to myself, perhaps it is the physical warmth while in the cold, the vision possible by the presence of physical light in the darkness, literally standing in a place of tribulation that has been made tolerable, even comfortable, by blessings I enjoy, that calls my mind to pondering, to considering things outside myself, above myself.

And perhaps this is the feeling, this communion of spirit, that is intended when we are instructed to Count Your Many Blessings. It is both comforting and troubling. I am grateful for what I have, and pray that it be in Father's plan that I keep it. Everything I do is for my family.