This is the first of many meditations on spiritual states of winter, as Mickey moves through three winter seasons uninterrupted by summer.
Now is the winter of our disconnect. A somber season of darkness when distractions are whisked away with whipping winds, surrounding sounds are subdued in snowy stillness, fiery fears fuel us forward, and coldness collects our consciousness, concentrates courage. Wintry woods, frosty forests mirror the quiet we cultivate within. Rocky ridges, steep slopes witness our weakness, sentinel our smallness. In this solemn stillness, we invite ourselves inward, delve deeply, face fear.
lo que me hizo pensar: For the next three weeks, I live in a small wooden shed outside of the co-op in Boulderland, USA. Last night, temperatures were in the low teens (Fahrenheit), but I had plenty of extra heat buried beneath a quilted cocoon. The lack of wi-fi let me focus on a few good chapters of a book, and I descended into a deep slumber for many hours, awaking into a fullness I haven't felt in...
The past years have been an exercise in energetic exchanging and emptying. I wander along winding trails in autumn air through foggy forests, finding friends, meeting minstrels, sowing seeds, picking plants, harvesting hope cultivated in soggy spring and summer sun...my journey now turns toward tundra, leaves the closed canopy and mossy mat, meeting misty mountain meadows.
I honor this journey: we climb through miles of montane slopes to find alpine expanses. I envy the content creature who is satisfied staying seaside, marveling at mountain majesty, no inclination to challenging climbs, dangerous descents. We wilderness weirdos are wont to seek summits, climb couloirs, ski chutes, ride rapids....squeeze the knees and cheese the trees! When the body is in motion, the soul rests. Storms outside stoke the fire within!
The past years leave me with alien apathy, apparent affluence settling into stagnation: safety and security are not sustainable. Struggling, surviving, striving, this is what we animals do, and we die when we do not! The instant connectivity of our global society is terribly useful, and uselessly terrible. We are told that technology is a tool with tremendous power, but what doesn't tech tell us? What kinds of greater connections and experiences do we circumvent by compartmentalizing ourselves with computers?
In Chile, I will live in a vegetarian house with three healer humans, a cat named Paloma, fruit trees, no freezer, and no wi-fi! I will greet the rising sun, savor the solemn stillness, and relish this opportunity to disconnect, disassociate, delve within, to ground down.
We live in a sad and stupid time when the existence of winter is threatened:
http://time.com/5139589/scott-pruitt-climate-change-epa/
We value consumption, convenience, and comfort over conservation, cooperation, and contemplation. In a world where self-reliance is sacrilege, inner peace is illegal, and to tarry is treason, I dare you to exist!
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