The clear, cool barrier
Protects me from the outside world.
It provides shelter with a view.
The glass is hard on the knuckles.
But like all things,
It has a limit to what it can hold.
The barrier can be broken
With enough external force.

The window will not crack on its own.
Even a glass pan can withstand
Hundreds of degrees of heat.
Only when it contacts the opposite --
The abrupt and sudden cold -- will it shatter.

Glass is an insulator.
It holds heat and cold.
It cannot exist in both extremes simultaneously.

Yet, each day I find myself
In a pendulum swing between the two.
But I have not cracked.

Through mindfulness and peaceful presence,
I am aware of the extremes before I’m swept away.
I find my footing and breathe.
I am not as fragile as I used to be.

I am not trapped by the glass.
It is a tool at my disposal.
I reflect on the lessons
And remember I can open the window.

I can open the door and let the heat escape
Before it boils over.

The window may be a barrier,
But the view is all mine.