Fire on the Mountain: Awakenings, Observations, & Small Victories

Blooming Tulips                                                                Catherine Al-Meten Meyers

Life, when taken in large doses, can be overwhelming. Most of us are engaged to some extent, in the world outside of our own daily realm. We may try to figure out what is going on and what we might be able to do about tragedies of overwhelming proportions, disappointments with how people behave and think, or in coping with personal obstacles, upsets, and challenges. And most of the time, we have more than enough to deal with in just living day to day ourselves. Regardless of who we are, we each face circumstances that call out our highest selves and present unique challenges. How we cope and face that which we are faced with, determines what our lives look like.

It's not a coincidence that when the world is blowing up in some way on the outside, something similar may be happening in our own lives. In an example from the Northwest tribal cultures, we talk about "Fire on the Mountain".  The Pacific Northwest is located in Tierra del Fuego (the Ring of Fire). The land of fire refers to the string of volcanoes located all along the Pacific Rim including the Northwest. When we see smoke rising from one of the mountains, or when tremors and earthquakes occur, we take it as a sign that something big is brewing beneath the surface. Something that might erupt without much notice, changing the way we live our lives. And so we notice the signs, the ways that the natural world speaks to us. We notice when the rivers run fast and are full of white caps near the mouth, or when the tides are extremely low or high. We notice when the birds gather near the marshes, on their migration routes to the south, or when they return in giant flocks overhead. The world around us gives us signs, as does the world of human activity.

When humans in a given area are generally upset, everyone feels it. You personally may not be upset, but it is likely you'll notice the edginess of those around or near you. Likewise, when people are feeling peaceful and calm, it is apparent. Everything that is going on affects us. To ignore that fact, is to ignore the messages that we are receiving. Messages may include the need to slow down, or take a different route home. It may include hearing news that turns your world upside down. Messages that come in all forms including dreams, direct experience or observation, intuition or hunches, or knowledge gleaned from research or some form of study. Socrates coined the phrase, "The past is prologue," meaning we can look to the past to learn lessons about the present and the future. Events and experiences may not be identical, but there is enough evidence to show that we humans repeat patterns of behavior and our ideas and perspectives change over time. We swing between the extremes of the polarities in life, and when we as a collective body have swung too far in one direction, something usually occurs to swing us back more toward the center. The extremes on the pendulum represent the out limits of our experiences and choices, and often reflect what our response is to the events occurring in the world around us.

What does all this have to do with writing? If we are writers, artists, musicians, or creative people, we respond to the energies inherent in the dynamics of the world. In the last few months, for example, (maybe much longer for some of us), we have been bombarded with the pre and post election information and challenges. We have also been more acutely aware of the conditions that affect people in some of the most dangerous and troubled parts of the world. Our technology and communications systems have made it impossible for us to ignore what is going on. And as those who tend to attempt to reflect what is going on in the world and how it affects us, we are on some level tuned into the upsetting and chaotic, sad and frightening, and challenging and unpredictable nature of the world around us. At the same time, our lives go on, and our own challenges may also reflect that fire on the mountain.

We may have lost a job, or someone we love may have recently died. There may be a sudden and unexpected crisis or a chronic situation that is coming to a head right now. We may feel as though we are at our wits end about some situation we need to deal with, or we may find ourselves having to make a decision or react to someone else's decision in a way we'd rather not. If you're fortunate, your daily emergencies are not life threatening or too challenging, but if they are, how do you cope and maintain some level of focus, purpose, meaning, and direction? How do you do the work you need and love to do? How do you maintain mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual balance? How do you best tend to your own health and well being?

Some of us are good at rising to the occasion. We do well in emergencies or we work best under pressure. These skills are often learned by surviving earlier challenges, difficulties, or dysfunction. The gifts in the garbage, so to speak. And if you do well under pressure, you may have been channeling your energy into all kinds of meaningful and purposeful tasks. However, what happens when it comes to taking care of yourself? Really tuning in to what you need to find greater harmony, stay healthy, and take care of the basics of life. I write about this today as I'm just coming through a period of time that was set into motion long before it happened, but came to a head on the morning after the election. I recognize that it has forced me into having to search deep into my own well to find the strength, energy, focus, and willingness to ask for and accept support.

At the same time, it has coincided with some events in the world that I also have a long history with; the horrors of war and violence and being too far from the source to help. The pain and suffering experienced by others, though not my own, necessarily calls for some kind of ongoing response and action from me. And so, the challenges seem to be all around. And as I began this essay, I realized we may have reached the point of being well beyond overwhelming, if there is such a point. Not just for me, but for many who find themselves either in the middle of battle for their lives, or too far removed from it to feel useful.

I want to share some of what I've learned that has helped. In my practice of mindfulness, presence, and prayer, I have struggled at various times to know how to proceed or how to handle situations. The mental, emotional, and spiritual anguish we feel has been difficult for me as well. And so to try to get through one day or one hour at a time, I've relied on all three practices, even when I wondered if it was doing any good at all. Being mindful simply means, to me, slowing myself down enough to simply observe and breathe and connect with what is true in this moment. What is the situation right now? For example, there are two cats exploring the upper rafters of the house. Do I get up, grab the broom, and try to shoo them off? Or do I just let them be and keep on focusing on what I'm doing right now? What is the priority? A very simple, mundane, silly thing, but nevertheless, I could make it a bigger deal than it has to be. It depends on what I want to do with my energy.

Taking a bigger situation, one I understand probably better than I do the election and governmental process, is the violence and war in Syria. Prayer is a powerful force of energy, so just taking time to pray and focus my energy into bring safety and peace into a terrible situation is one way I can deal with it. Another way is to support in some way, the organizations that I know are helping. The on-the-ground organizations that can actually save lives. Another way I can help is to learn more. Having knowledge of the history and politics of the region helps. I read a lot of overseas newspapers, to get a variety of points of view. Mindfulness lets me become more aware of what is feasible or not. It also often helps me understand why I feel the way I do. What about my own life, makes me more aware at this moment, of the suffering of others?  Being able to get some perspective on how I can or cannot help another, may also trigger me to get more involved, more engaged, or to learn more. Going into a deep, dark depression or losing hope and sinking into that abyss, are not ways that help anyone; myself or anyone else. It may be that we feel the great pain and sorrow, but to get lost in it doesn't help.

This is the juncture between how an artist, a writer, composer, or musician will cope with what seems insurmountable or too dark and hopeless to bear. And so it is. Those simple little gifts we have, a roof over our head, food to eat, friends and family near, time to think about something besides survival--all gifts that to appreciate, we need to use as well. One thing I've learned is that I need to take care of the basics. Need to eat properly. Need to get enough water, and be thankful I have water. Need sleep and rest from the hard work and struggles. And in those moments when I rest from what wearies me, I notice things that give me the light I need to see my way ahead. Todays' blessings, found me in front of the fire this morning, sitting on the floor in prayer and meditation. A new spot that has become a holy place for me, and how grateful I am to have discovered it. From that same place, I looked up in the hour just before dawn, to see the Moon shining her light in the window high above the rafters. Next to the Moon some brilliant stars shimmering in the pre-dawn sky. And as the light began to fill out the colors of the day, I found that well of deep gratitude that is a reservoir for me.

What good fortune to be alive at this time, and to have the skills, knowledge, talents, and resources to be a creative person. And how to use those resources and gifts in ways that build up rather than tear down. That sustain, rather than drain, and that support and uplift rather than debase and degrade. And for all those whom I've worked and lived with,  those whom I have our  shared lives and stories, I have learned that whatever one suffers, calls the sufferer to search for whatever light sustains them in the darkest hours, in the worst moments and deepest pain. And I have met so many who have done more than survive, so I am fully aware that those who seek to hurt and destroy others, can never kill the human spirit, can never destroy and replace the Truth. The Truth, whatever that is, remains the Truth regardless the lies and corruption. And so we cling to what is true, good, and the next right thing to do. Acting with this motivation and taking care of the valuable gift of our lives, are the most beautiful ways of fulfilling Christ's command to love one another.