The hallway was filled with even more smoke, so much that it stung my eyes and made it hurt to breathe. My neighbors were exiting as well, and they helped direct me to the stairwell because I wasn't really thinking straight or moving smartly since I was still so shocked. When I finally made it outside, I looked up to the apartment that was on fire (which turned out to be directly under mine, four floors under), and saw intense, bellowing smoke pouring out of the windows. It was all so surreal.
Eventually, the firemen put the fire out and we got to go back inside. My apartment was still filled with smoke, and even now still smells rechid. But I really can't complain, I am fine and nobody got hurt. But what a wake-up call.
Mostly, the incident reminds me of the delicate fragility of life, which we often forget since our brains are programmed to believe that things will always stay the same and never change. Yet the truth is that everything is changing and each moment our entire reality can shift - as it could have with this fire, had it led to more disastrous consequences.
Of course, this only makes the time we have so much more precious. The Tibetan teacher Gelek Rinpoche emphasizes that our time is running out, and we have to make the most of this rare and fleeting opportunity to wake up - RIGHT NOW. Instead, we often don’t have a sense of urgency because we don’t realize how easily this human life can be lost.....that is why moments like my fire incident are so precious, because they put things in perspective and remind of that we have no time to lose.
Buddhadharma Quarterly, Fall 2008
