Hi Brooke...I am writing from Santa Monica and fresh back from my beloved St. Monica community where I have been helping this past week at our donation drive.
Some thoughts...I suck at detachment and letting go, to be honest I can stew and hold a grudge.... but I thrive in finding ways to help.
Since the infamous Tuesday when we got this message from our kids school at 1:07 pm:
"As we near regular dismissal time, be aware of road closures to assist with Palisades Fire evacuations: westbound I-10 at Lincoln and northbound Pacific Coast Hwy. Avoid nonessential Sunset Blvd. travel. Big Blue Bus Rte 9 is also suspended"
And then the sharply contrasting message on Wed at 8 am. cancelling school, and then on an one it went...friends without homes or schools, our favorite Reel Inn and Rocco's, and the summer camp my kids went too. all gone. It was a lot and I dove into to helping.
In the midst of it all I also got told I would not be moving forward in a job interview that I really wanted. (given the circumstances silly, I know, but I have been laid off since May and invested a lot into this job prospect.)... it hit me, hard. All week their had been shock, tears, grief and trauma but I was grateful. I wrote back to the recruiter "Thank you, disappointed to not move forward but honestly sitting in gratitude that I can email you from my home and grateful my friends are alive and our school can take in kids, and we can eat as a community tonight helping each other move forward in grace."
I guess my thought really is Mother Nature hit us hard, the world is hitting hard...but like we look for the helpers in these times...look for the slivers of gratitude for the lessons learned (even though they are fucking hard).
Also my favorite Hemingway quote.." The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places".
So much love to all and may the rebuild be a peaceful community efforts filled with love and grace for each other and our Mother Earth
Peter's point to essentially let Mother Nature breathe free of our construction and altering her landscape is a point well taken. Because the brush and tiny vegetation is gone because of the fire... some people are now facing mudslides. What does it take to realize this area is exhausted. I understand people wanting to reclaim what they've lost. Of course. But the natural world seems very reticent to allow placing a stake in the ground to rebuild. Perhaps it's better to unravel where people should go to make a new home... a safer home... a more resilient home in a different place.
We’ve been wondering the EXACT SAME THING. (Also Peter made your same point about mudslides as we popped into the canyon to Malibu today… from the fires just a few weeks before Xmas.)
Hmm. What comes to mind first is that we must stop the idea of “conquering “ ; instead adapt as dance in partnership with all things, places and people. Live in balance & harmony. The idea of conquest works only so much; it has to be softened
With something else? Less greed, less things, less power, more humility, more community? A reprioritization? Once grief transitions to action there will be a rebirth. I dunno what it looks like but fire in some cultures is a metaphor for purification. From destruction we hope there is renewal. From the deepest part of our souls.
I am a big believer of leaving the coastline bare for nature to do its thing and people to enjoy. Build on the other side of a road. Nature is to enjoyed by all.
Unraveling and resilience have gone hand-in-hand in my life....each experience with unraveling, whether triggered by the loss of my infant son, the divorce after 31 years of marriage, watching my beloved ranch in Big Sur on fire, being stopped by mudslides on Hwy 1 and most recently surviving two separate cancer diagnosis' and treatment, have provided a new perspective on how to move forward (resilience). There are immediate needs to take care of that often delay the 'moving forward' but I have always found that my own survival instinct will carry me into a direction that takes me to the next phase. Often it's helping others recover from shared tragedies, e.g., how do I help my older son understand the loss of his brother? How do I show my son's that it is possible to not be bitter after their parents' divorce, in fact they can thrive. How do I help my neighbors also affected by the fires in Big Sur (or wherever) without trying to compare my losses to theirs (it's not a competition)...how do I warn people when there is no cell or wifi service that the mudslides will keep them from getting to a hospital via their normal route? How do I share how chemo and radiation affected me and what I was able to do to mitigate side effects. So for me, resilience means digging into my creative side, thinking outside the box, remembering what brings me happiness and sharing that as a means of supporting either family or friends or complete strangers. This January has been especially challenging for so many in so many parts of the world I can get overwhelmed but if I sit quietly for a bit and regularly move my body physically (for me it is strength and conditioning which with the support of an amazing coach, I was able to continue through treatment), I usually can come up with an idea that in the long run, helps me figure a new option for looking at my own life differently or helping others get through a rough time....and lastly, listening and learning from others who have navigated through similar experiences...you can learn a lot from others if you're willing to just listen...
Hi Brooke...I am writing from Santa Monica and fresh back from my beloved St. Monica community where I have been helping this past week at our donation drive.
Some thoughts...I suck at detachment and letting go, to be honest I can stew and hold a grudge.... but I thrive in finding ways to help.
Since the infamous Tuesday when we got this message from our kids school at 1:07 pm:
"As we near regular dismissal time, be aware of road closures to assist with Palisades Fire evacuations: westbound I-10 at Lincoln and northbound Pacific Coast Hwy. Avoid nonessential Sunset Blvd. travel. Big Blue Bus Rte 9 is also suspended"
And then the sharply contrasting message on Wed at 8 am. cancelling school, and then on an one it went...friends without homes or schools, our favorite Reel Inn and Rocco's, and the summer camp my kids went too. all gone. It was a lot and I dove into to helping.
In the midst of it all I also got told I would not be moving forward in a job interview that I really wanted. (given the circumstances silly, I know, but I have been laid off since May and invested a lot into this job prospect.)... it hit me, hard. All week their had been shock, tears, grief and trauma but I was grateful. I wrote back to the recruiter "Thank you, disappointed to not move forward but honestly sitting in gratitude that I can email you from my home and grateful my friends are alive and our school can take in kids, and we can eat as a community tonight helping each other move forward in grace."
I guess my thought really is Mother Nature hit us hard, the world is hitting hard...but like we look for the helpers in these times...look for the slivers of gratitude for the lessons learned (even though they are fucking hard).
Also my favorite Hemingway quote.." The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places".
So much love to all and may the rebuild be a peaceful community efforts filled with love and grace for each other and our Mother Earth
I SO FEEL ALL OF THIS, MEGHAN. AND AMEN. 🙏🏽 Thank you for reading and taking the time to reflect. Love that Hemingway quote. I see you.
Peter's point to essentially let Mother Nature breathe free of our construction and altering her landscape is a point well taken. Because the brush and tiny vegetation is gone because of the fire... some people are now facing mudslides. What does it take to realize this area is exhausted. I understand people wanting to reclaim what they've lost. Of course. But the natural world seems very reticent to allow placing a stake in the ground to rebuild. Perhaps it's better to unravel where people should go to make a new home... a safer home... a more resilient home in a different place.
We’ve been wondering the EXACT SAME THING. (Also Peter made your same point about mudslides as we popped into the canyon to Malibu today… from the fires just a few weeks before Xmas.)
Hmm. What comes to mind first is that we must stop the idea of “conquering “ ; instead adapt as dance in partnership with all things, places and people. Live in balance & harmony. The idea of conquest works only so much; it has to be softened
With something else? Less greed, less things, less power, more humility, more community? A reprioritization? Once grief transitions to action there will be a rebirth. I dunno what it looks like but fire in some cultures is a metaphor for purification. From destruction we hope there is renewal. From the deepest part of our souls.
Instead of “conquering”… a “dance.” May it be so. 🙏🏽 Thank you so much, Noreen.
I am a big believer of leaving the coastline bare for nature to do its thing and people to enjoy. Build on the other side of a road. Nature is to enjoyed by all.
Unraveling and resilience have gone hand-in-hand in my life....each experience with unraveling, whether triggered by the loss of my infant son, the divorce after 31 years of marriage, watching my beloved ranch in Big Sur on fire, being stopped by mudslides on Hwy 1 and most recently surviving two separate cancer diagnosis' and treatment, have provided a new perspective on how to move forward (resilience). There are immediate needs to take care of that often delay the 'moving forward' but I have always found that my own survival instinct will carry me into a direction that takes me to the next phase. Often it's helping others recover from shared tragedies, e.g., how do I help my older son understand the loss of his brother? How do I show my son's that it is possible to not be bitter after their parents' divorce, in fact they can thrive. How do I help my neighbors also affected by the fires in Big Sur (or wherever) without trying to compare my losses to theirs (it's not a competition)...how do I warn people when there is no cell or wifi service that the mudslides will keep them from getting to a hospital via their normal route? How do I share how chemo and radiation affected me and what I was able to do to mitigate side effects. So for me, resilience means digging into my creative side, thinking outside the box, remembering what brings me happiness and sharing that as a means of supporting either family or friends or complete strangers. This January has been especially challenging for so many in so many parts of the world I can get overwhelmed but if I sit quietly for a bit and regularly move my body physically (for me it is strength and conditioning which with the support of an amazing coach, I was able to continue through treatment), I usually can come up with an idea that in the long run, helps me figure a new option for looking at my own life differently or helping others get through a rough time....and lastly, listening and learning from others who have navigated through similar experiences...you can learn a lot from others if you're willing to just listen...