Snow Story

We gathered at the window to watch the snowfall. It was coming down lightly, the small flakes landing softly on the ground. I thought it wouldn’t amount to much.

Next to me, a friend shared that snow experts say it’s the small flakes that actually make the big impact. Larger flakes have more water and don’t stay.

And sure enough, a few hours later the small steady flakes had built up an impressive layer of whiteness. And continued to fall. 

Unlike the steady covering of snow, the goal of the practice of Bhakti is the steady uncovering of our soul. It’s an excavation, a digging out, a removal of layers and layers of dust from lifetimes of material desires, hopes, and dreams that cover us. 

Mostly it is the subtle energy of ego that keeps the soul hidden. Although it’s a subtle energy, our material ego is loud and defensive. It identifies with our current body. It fights with life in an effort to control things in the search for some semblance of happiness. It is often referred to as the ‘false’ ego and is nourished by endless material desires. 

By turning our consciousness, our attention, to understanding and sensing our soul, we tame the false material ego. It’s the daily showing up to meditation on Krishna’s beauty, His name, and His relationships. It’s the steady effort to question life, to think philosophically, and to give and receive love with abundance.  

And like the small snowflakes that change the look of the world, our spiritual efforts don’t have to be big. It's the small, manageable, steady daily effort which will bring light and life to our soul, the true ego. 

We are heading into spring soon, and may not have much more snow to remind us. But messages are everywhere. We just have to keep our eyes and ears open.