Last Sunday I wrote of unexpected sanctuaries. In retrospect, I am beginning to understand that my encounter with the rustic Madonna shrine at the nearby monastery was preparation, strengthening me for the week ahead. I mentioned the haze that had begun to engulf the L.A. skyline as I sat at the shrine. That haze was a forerunner to the treacherous Santa Anna Winds sweeping down the San Gabriel Mountains last Tuesday night, igniting the Eaton Fire about 5 miles from my neighborhood. Monday had brought the weather report of high winds, and tree limbs banged about through the night. Tuesday, I knew I had to be cautious, but with errands to run and grandchildren to collect, I entered the day, maneuvered the streets and flying branches, and was home by 6 p.m. Checking my phone, I saw I had missed messages from the police and fire departments warning of escalating fire threats. At 8 p.m. my phone buzzed with an emergency SME to leave the area; a fire was raging through nearby Eaton Canyon. At first I thought it had to be a mistake caused by recent changes to my phone service. I decided to ignore it for a bit, do a little online search for information, and check in with family. But some other part of me kept pulling at me to pack. I began loading my car when a policeman with a speaker mike, drove through the streets warning everyone to leave! By 9:00, I and my family were packed and leaving L.A. County for a distant motel.
If you have followed the news, you know the Eaton fire has destroyed an estimated 6,500 buildings. And the Palisades fire, the first in what has become a series of fires sweeping Los Angeles County, including Hollywood, has flared again with further destruction. I am writing this from a hotel room, although I will be returning to my home later today.
What is the message here from a spiritual perspective? Given the timing and the political division, the fires have turned into further political battles. Given the social media culture, it has been difficult to sort out truth and necessary information from deliberate lies, conflicting announcements and misinformation. But these conflicts now seem like a kind of annoying (although potentially dangerous) epiphenomenon, that is, the undermining undertow obscures the heroic strength of community and kindness. Kindness promotes community. Community arises from recognition of our commonality; we identify, we recognize, understand, what it means to go through a time of threat, of fear, of loss. This week I have witnessed incredible acts of kindness and generosity of spirit. There are threads that connect us, not just to one another, but to the natural world as well, and it's shifts and adaptations--the winds, the droughts, the rains, the fire. I encourage you this week to expand your sense of community and the thread that weaves community with kindness and belonging. Even as the world shifts and changes, It is still One. (Susan Nettleton)
For poetry: https://onbeing.org/poetry/after-the-fire/
https://allpoetry.com/.../16400958-After-The-Fire-by... https://allpoetry.com/.../15179079-Like-Others-by-Jane...