As I write this, fires rage in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. That refuge where so many people travel to find some quiet, a space of reflection, and an escape from the busy, chaotic world. The BWCA is a huge wilderness expanse, with many areas accessible only by portage (carrying your own canoe) and hiking. Now that beautiful wilderness burns.
While we cough and wheeze in the smoke-filled haze, a parasite, Cyclospora, is the pestilence of the season, infecting people and causing vomiting, dehydration, and explosive diarrhea. Physically and metaphorically, shit everywhere.
In this same week, two more hardworking men in the prime of their lives, seeking their own American dream of prosperity, were shot and killed by ICE officers. Then the public is told that in both cases, these men were not even the people ICE was seeking to find.
It seems everywhere you look, it's chaos, madness, and destruction of what we hold dear; fresh air, good health, and productive lives just vanish. It's enough to make a sane person want to get away from it all, maybe camp in the wilderness, find a space with no WIFI or cell service...but that's not available, since it's currently on fire.
In some ways, I suppose these types of apocalyptic events have always occurred throughout time. There have been natural disasters before, along with plagues and pandemics. Through it all, we as humans seem to always fall back on fighting, grabbing, hoarding, violence, or simply doing whatever we think we must do to lay claim to our fair share. When we do, Mother Nature will always show us who's boss. We are brought to our knees again and again via tsunami, fire, hurricane and tornado. We are brought low and zapped of our energy via a bug or parasite we cannot see, but that has the capacity to stop us in our tracks and keep us stuck in the bathroom. We witness senseless violence committed in front of toddlers and stand in disbelief and shock. What really is the point?
The lessons actually seem pretty clear when you step back just a bit, and I guess events need to be dramatic enough to shock us and get us to listen up and pay attention. Our natural world is important, and this is the reminder. When we cease to be good stewards of the land and the magnificent creation we call Earth, all hell breaks loose. We get a swift kick in the pants and a reminder that none of us will survive without the basics of clean air, plentiful water, and food grown in healthy soil.
Not much else matters beyond our personal health, and a mysterious parasite makes that plain. The adage "if you don't have your health, you don't have anything" certainly rings true. All that we take for granted, all the ways our bodies carry us through our days, suddenly come to a halt when we are ill. Our own good health is critical, and it's easy to forget that until it's gone.
The parasite we cannot see interrupts our days and zaps our strength. The violence on our streets erupts without warning. Reckless ICE agents, ramming the cars of suspicious brown people, shooting them, and then lying about the circumstances. When we witness people being killed on their way to work or in front of neighbors and family members, our moral compass and sense of safety is shaken. Aren't we all a part of one human family?
So where do we go from here? What's to be done when events around us challenge our very way of being?
For me, it is simply this: do not turn away. While it might feel safer and more comfortable to run, to ignore, to hide, or to give up and explain it all away so we can feel that there's nothing to be done, that has never been the answer. Throughout history, what have people done? How have they responded to storms, plague, or war?
The short answer is they start again. They rebuild. They share what they have and help their neighbors; they nurse those who are ill, and they comfort the grieving and stay present with them.
These are the tasks of the day. It's tempting to shut it all out, but to do so is to close off a part of what makes us human. Decide today that you will care, even if it's hard. Take some small action to heal the natural world: plant a garden, pick up garbage, conserve, and use only the water you truly need. Take very good care of your personal health. We will all succumb to illness occasionally, but our bodies are the vehicles we need to carry us through our day. Focus on eating well, sleeping well, moving, bending, and breathing as though your life depends on it, because it does. Care for your neighbors. Choose to believe in the goodness of people. Live your life with honesty and care. Do not get hooked by the lies or inflammatory language that is designed to get you to point your finger or blame someone else. We live in community. We are hard wired to be social creatures that cherish and protect life. To lose this element of our nature will leave us hollow and eventually full of shame and regret.
Live with a sense of abundance, share with others, and care about what happens to your neighbor. These are the behaviors that will sustain and uplift us. We are stronger together. Even in the worst circumstances, the beauty of our lives can be found in the small comforting caring actions of those around us.
Quit hiding or looking away. Get out there and connect with people. Protect the things we all need in order to grow and thrive: nature, our own health, and a safe space to meet our brother and sister in solidarity and love.
Posts
