As a child growing up here in Florida I remember our winters varied subjectively from quite mild to barely tolerable. Of course that had a lot to do with our lack of central heating, but not entirely. There was one winter in the mid-Sixties that almost devastated our citrus industry, some groves never being replanted. As an adult, a newlywed in fact, in January 1977, we had snow that not only stuck around rather than melting immediately, but even remained for a second day. Except for the hottest and coldest of days, I have had a broad temperature tolerance. Nevertheless, I always preferred the summer over the winter.
Central heating and air conditioning were rare in homes when I was growing up. Most of us handled the temperatures by wearing more in the winter than in the summer and using space heaters in the winter and electric fans in the summer. Furthermore, for most of us our level of physical activity declined as the temperature rose. Nevertheless, winter weather was usually more of a nuisance than a serious problem although not as benign as the Hawaiian winter which I had the chance to experience in the Navy.
In December 1983 and the rest of that winter in 1984, as a result of my injuries from my motor vehicle accident in the spring of 1983, I experienced my first real trouble with winter weather. Between the plates that were installed in my forearms and the damage to my joints, winters in the monasteries both in Northern California and in New York State were painful with my level of pain rising as the temperature dropped. In fact, that pain sending me to the doctor in California and the size of the bill for the doctor visit and xrays prompted me to apply for veteran's benefits since I believed that the monastery should not bear the expense for the consequences of injuries sustained during military service.
Furthermore, after settling back here in Florida, my psoriatic arthritis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis manifested itself. This too caused me to feel more pain in the winter than in the summer. Nevertheless, I am most fortunate that I have responded so well to treatment with Enbrel that I live with very little pain most of the time. Inasmuch as our weather is generally warm I am spared having too much pain from either my osteoarthritic joints or my psoriatic arthritic joints.
This latest weekend, with its winter weather unlike any since that January of 1977, is causing a lot of us older folks some serious pain and other difficulties. There have been unconfirmed reports of snow flurries in south Florida. The National Weather Service even issued a wind chill advisory for the Florida Keys. So many of us here in Florida, particularly the poorest, have houses like mine without central heat and air conditioning and lacking adequate insulation. I am more fortunate than most in that, if the rest of the house gets too cold, I can withdraw into the bedroom where I have sealed the air leaks and can position both of my space heaters to warm the room. There I can settle in with my laptop or a book and keep warm until bedtime. A mug of Tibetan butter tea is a warming addition to the scenario, my affinity for it perhaps being a remembrance from a previous lifetime.
Other poor older people who don't have a warm place like this are plagued by arthritic pains and risk having serious new health problems, perhaps even pneumonia. They can even die of “exposure” or hypothermia just as though they were outside in the weather. The compassion of the more fortunate should prevent these sorts of things from happening to all these people. However, such compassion is in very short supply and doesn't seem to be getting more common!
Beyond these kinds of conditions which clearly appear to be beyond my control, I can see the karmic roots of some of my medical conditions. My arthritis serves as an excellent example. The psoriatic arthritis just like my cancer and my congenital aortic defect would be the fruit of karmic seeds planted in previous lifetimes, perhaps one in which I was a self-indulgent rich kid. However, to some extent the osteoarthritis is the result of actions in this lifetime, particularly the unwise decision not to go directly home from the Naval Facility, but rather to go to the next town to pick up specially ordered parts for my van and then go out to a nice restaurant for supper before going home, resulting in a near-fatal car wreck.
My karma is my karma whether within one lifetime or extending across multiple lifetimes. Of course, I have the choice of what to make of it. I can just let it run its course or I can make it an occasion to benefit others. I prefer the latter!
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