Life Beyond Zero

The title of this blog may catch your attention, and you’re wondering how it came about. The first title I thought of was “Above Zero.” The grass and trees recently turned green in southern Minnesota, a result of warmer temperatures, gentle rains, and generous sunlight. This is a particularly dramatic event, arriving as it does on the heels of a long, cold winter.  There is unique beauty in deep winter; peace and stillness that nurtures the quiet in us. There is also darkness, painful fingers, and cars that refuse to start. In defiance, I drive north to sleep in a fish-house on Upper Red Lake, as if fried walleye somehow provides a cure for cabin fever. It does - temporarily. Modern life goes on. We have lights and computers and televisions to keep us awake. We survive. When the temperature rises above zero, life in t-shirt and shorts calls from the temporal distance. When the highs finally hover in the low 60s, squirrels harass dogs, night crawlers cover the ground on a rainy night, and we realize life beyond zero.

It hasn’t escaped me that life begins at the age of zero, or that standing still is the speed of zero. The zen concept of nothingness, with no beginning or end, also presents itself. Philosophers and theologians have stated that something cannot come from nothing, but our perception nonetheless tells us otherwise. From no mind, no memories, floating in a state of ignorant bliss, we emerge with heart beating, moving from here to there, growing older and watching the clock tick. We seek warmth. Hot baths, pizza straight from the oven, a lover’s embrace. It’s a movement away from zero that inevitably goes full circle and returns to the starting point. It’s a good thing, life.