Fire On The Wind

Fire on the wind, hear the predator roar,Cat’s eyes of hunger, an all-consuming war. Witness the hellish fury, smell the dragon’s breath,Beware the devil winds, they spew danger, they reap death.

Fire on the wind, where everything is prey.Timbers fall, no place to hide, day becomes night, light decay.The good earth turns to ashes, where is the thunder, the rains?When fire on the wind is finished, just ghostly ashes remains.

The words in the poem are stark: prey, predator, devil, fury. It’s obvious in retrospect that something in me had been consumed. My roots had been slashed and I toppled like a tree ripped out of bedrock. Nothing would ever be the same.

When the fires burn or the winds crash or the waters flood, I think it’s a call to spiritual authenticity. It was for me. In crisis, there is no longer an option to fake your spiritual focus—what you believe or don’t believe is in your face—who are you, why are you? What is important? What isn’t? Resurrection is the only avenue of escape. Like the mythical Phoenix in myth and legend, we are called to arise from the ashes or flood waters and evolve into our next stronger Self, reinforced by our broken places. My husband and I clung to the Phoenix myth of a Great Unknown within that energizes the soul in the midst of anguish to help us rise high and prosper.

Through commitment and focus on meditation, journaling, prayer, myth, legend, and gems we participated in our own resurrection. Family was wonderful, the Red Cross helped (FEMA did not —this was in Malibu in 1993—they actually harmed rather than healed).

We were struggling financially before the fire, now we’re prosperous. We were younger before the fire, now we’re wiser. We were unsteady on our spiritual path before the fire, now we’re sure of our priorities. I live my sacred purpose now, after the fire, after the healing, by designing stories in stones (spiritual jewelry) that helps heal and inspire, and writing books that reveal ancient secrets for living your destiny. Wisdom has been handed down to us in so many ways; as we listen to those who have gone before us and then step into their discoveries of healing, we are resurrected —lighter, happier, freer.

I wouldn’t want to walk through the fire again, but I am certain it was my alchemy experience – turning lead into gold—giving me a purpose, a healing. And I confess it is not easy, but tragedy forces us to turn within to discover that we are more than we think we are. We are happy, fulfilled, and awake to our purpose.