Power Cut

Last Friday we had the heaviest amount of snow that we’ve seen in our area for a long time.  Four to five inches fell during the day, causing chaos on the roads and disruption to the transport system.  More snow fell yesterday and with temperatures barely getting above freezing, the snow has turned to ice.

So this morning was not a good day to wake up to a power cut! 

The power shower didn’t work because it’s run by an electric motor; no cup of tea; no heating; no internet connection and a short battery life on my pc; no hot food as we cook electric; the washing machine ground to a halt; and so the list goes on. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am not moaning here – just observing.

I did notice the complete silence when the power went off.   We get so used to the noise that surrounds us every day that we just don’t notice it any more.  Without the constant hum of appliances, and the traffic noise muted by the snow, the silence was palpable. I sat for a while "just being".

The other thing that hit me was how reliant we have become upon our appliances and gadgets, we feel we can’t function without them.  When these are taken away from us we are forced to do other, simpler things.

So what did I do this morning?  I had a long and deep discussion with a friend; I spent some time reading; I played with the cats!  Yes, I would have preferred to have some heat to keep warm and the facility to make a hot drink, but actually I really didn’t mind the power cut.

Perhaps if, every once in a while, we learnt to let go of our “things” and spent some time living a more simple life, we would start to realise how good life can be and how it’s not things that really make us happy.

Mind you, I don’t know how I would have felt if the power was off for a longer period of time!