A Volcanic Ascent As Metaphor

Over the past two days, I've hiked to the tops of two volcanoes (extinct): Tetilla Peak and Otowi Peak. The views from the top of these peaks were spectacular, as they rose high above their surrounding New Mexico desert. I could see three mountain ranges: Sangre de Cristo, Jemez and Manzano.

Hiking up a volcano is an unusual experience. From a distance a volcano looks gentle and not too challenging. Up close is a difference experience. First, volcanoes are very steep in places, especially toward the top. Secondly, volcanic rocks are rugged and sharp, making for a somewhat chaotic scramble over them. In steep places, you have to use hands and feet to make your assent.

As I ascended Otowi Peak this morning, I thought about how hiking a volcano can be a metaphor for life. Often, what looks easy from a distance is very difficult up close. There are many things that fall into this category: learning a new skill, playing a sport, and deepening one's spirituality.

Just like ascending a steep volcanic slope, it takes determination and perseverance to do something you haven't done before. These same qualities are important in spirituality. Few things in life come easy, especially the important things like love, gratitude and joy. These things take practice and effort to cultivate, but are definitely worth the effort.

Joyful Skiing

I just returned from a day of skiing at Santa Fe Ski Basin. The day was glorious-- sunny and in the 30's. While they need more snow to open all the runs, there was plenty of base (32 inches) to cover most slopes. The photo on the right was taken at the ski area by Kyle Webb.

What I love about skiing is the sense of freedom it offers. When I'm skiing well, I feel as if I'm floating down a white slope with no end in sight. One person I skiing with once said skiing felt like "dancing with the mountain."

Skiing can be a soul nourishing experience. When I lose myself in skiing, it's almost like a moving meditation. Another skiing friend said when he was skiing well he had a sense of "flow"-- an effortless and joyful experience. Of course, you do have to watch out for hazards and other skiers.

Even riding the lift was enjoyable. I was able to view several peaks, including two that I have hiked to: Deception Peak and Lake Peak. Just being in a place of such beauty and serenity is well worth the $60 lift ticket.

Skiing is a form of play and can be spontaneous and joyful. Each of us needs to discover those things that bring us joy. Joy is a giveaway clue to what feeds our souls.

The Awesome Power of Cold

With the frigid temperatures gripping the nation, I've been reflecting on cold and it's power. There is something mysterious and even awesome about cold.

To that end, I've been reading a book titled, Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places, by Bill Streever. Streever, a biologist who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, is an aficionado of cold places. The book is a travelogue of places he has visited over a year's time.

Streever observes:
"We fail to see cold for what it is: the absence of heat, the slowing of molecular motion, a sensation, a perception, a driving force. Cold freezes the nostrils and assaults the lungs. Its presence shapes landscapes. It sculpts forests and herds animals along migration routes or forces them to dig in for the winter or evolve fur. It preserves food... It preserves the faithful in vats of liquid nitrogen from which they hope one day to be resurrected."

We know that cold is powerful, causing injury and even death. But can this force of nature be respected and even appreciated? Without cold the earth couldn't exist in its present form. We need the polar ice caps for nature's balance. The cycle of nature in the northern hemisphere needs cold to produce needed snow and to foster hibernation for certain species.

Cold is a necessary part of God's creation. While it is one of nature's gifts that is difficult to be thankful for, we need to see its importance. Maybe we would appreciate cold more if we got out of our heated homes and cars and felt cold's power to invigorate.

Twice Bombed

Here's how I read the newspaper every day. After reading the front page and the sports section, I go right to the obituaries. Why? I don't think it's morbid curiosity. Neither is it because I want to check to see whether my name is there. I read the obits because they are often interesting and sometimes fascinating.

Today, I was fascinated by the story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who died at the age of 93 in Nagasaki, Japan. He was the only official survivor of both atomic blasts in Japan in 1945. However, there were an estimated 165 survivors of both blasts. These survivors were known as "nijyuu hibakusha" or "twice-bombed."

In his later years, Mr. Yamaguchi campaigned against atomic weapons. In 2006 he wrote a memoir and participated in a documentary about double bombing survivors. When the documentary was shown at the United Nations he called for the abolition of nuclear weapons

Here's what he said about surviving the blasts: "I could have died on either of those days. Everything that follows is a bonus."

Wouldn't it be great if we could see each day as a bonus? I don't believe we have to have a close brush (or two) with death to realize that life is a gift. All we have to do is be grateful for each day and give thanks to the Giver of the gift of life.

Having An Epiphany

With today being the Christian festival of Epiphany, a reflection on its meaning seems appropriate. The primary meaning of the Greek word epiphany is "appearing" or "manifestation." In Christian tradition, this is the day when Christ was made manifest to the gentiles in the form of the Magi.

Epiphany occurs on the Twelfth Day of the Christmas season and is the season's end. In early Christianity, Epiphany was a more important festival than Christmas-- and this is still the case in the Eastern Orthodox tradition.

Another meaning of the word epiphany is "a sudden, intuitive perception or insight into reality or the essential meaning of something, often initiated by some simple, commonplace occurrence" (Webster's Dictionary).

This latter meaning of epiphany is intriguing. Haven't all of us had sudden insights into the essential meaning of something? These are rare occurrences, but can be life changing. I am fascinated by the idea that these epiphanies can be initiated by a "simple, commonplace occurrence."

Such epiphanies can happen at any time and in any place. The key is our openness and receptivity to them. Perhaps epiphanies would happen more often if we looked and listened for the sacred and holy in everyday life.

New News on Grieving

Dr. George Bonanno has written a new book on grieving titled, The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After Loss. I've read two reviews that highly recommend the book.

Dr. Bonanno challenges the conventional wisdom that there are five stages of grief based on Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's research of persons facing their own deaths. He contends that this research doesn't necessarily apply to those who are grieving the loss of loved ones.

Instead, he points to three "grieving patterns": 10-15% of people have chronic difficulty coping with loss; 15-20% struggle for several months and then recover; over 50%, although pained by the loss, are able to function from the beginning, demonstrating "resilience."

"Resilience" is defined as being able to function well despite the loss. He says of those who are resilient: "They oscillate between turning inward, to face the fact that the loved one is gone, and turning outward."

Resilience is an important spiritual quality-- it is the capacity to draw comfort and strength from one's faith in God. To be resilient doesn't mean that we will be immune from the pain of loss, but that we will be able to cope with it and live a full and meaningful life.

Getting Lighter in the New Year

As in previous years, the #1 New Year’s resolution is (you guessed it) to lose weight. Exercising regularly is a close second with quitting smoking in third place. The fact that losing weight/going on a diet has been at the top of New Year’s resolution lists ever since I can remember is a testimony to the weakness of our resolve.

Or maybe the reason losing weight is our top priority is that New Year’s follows the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, where overindulgence at the dining table is a national tradition.

I like how W.H. Auden put it in his long poem, For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio: “There are enough leftovers to do, warmed up, for the rest of the week/Not that we have much appetite, having drunk such a lot,/Stayed up so late, attempted—quite unsuccessfully--/To love all of our relatives, and in general/Grossly overestimated our powers.”

Even though it is good and healthy to not be overweight, I’d like to suggest we try a different kind of New Year’s resolution, a spiritual resolution if you will: to go on a “spiritual diet”.

What I am suggesting is that we take some time early in 2010 to examine the state of our souls and recognize what we need to lose or shed.

For instance, many of us are weighed down with worries and anxiety about the future, our own and the future of the world. The weight of these concerns can be crushing.

Is it possible to shed some of the weight of worry and anxiety? If we could learn to trust in God’s grace and love, perhaps we would worry less about the future. If we could let go of our worries by placing them in God’s hands, I’ll bet we’d feel lighter, and happier.

Others of us are weighed down with the affliction of “too much.” We can easily accumulate too much of, well, nearly everything: clothes, wine, jewelry, shoes, and (yes) even money. The cure for this affliction is to go on a different kind of diet in which we give away those things we don’t use or need to those who really need them.

The result of lightening up in the area of possessions is that we can travel through this world lighter—and freer. The real problem with too many possessions is that they end up possessing us. Taking care of our growing number of possessions ends up taking too much of our time and energy.

Another excess weight we carry is the weight of feeling as if we need to have control over everything. You’ve likely heard the expression “he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.” When you think about it, it’s pretty narcissistic to believe that we can even come close to being in control over everything in our lives.

What if we could relinquish our need to control everything? What if we could let go of the illusion that everything depends upon our efforts alone? Again, if we could learn to turn over our need to control things to God, our burdens would be so much lighter.

So, let us resolve in 2010 to go on a spiritual diet of shedding worries, giving away unneeded possessions, and letting go of our need to control everything. If committed ourselves to losing this spiritual weight, our lives would be so much lighter and happier.