Recent events certainly have been a bit troubling, haven’t they?
Seems like the world’s on fire. In fact, much of it is during this time of year. My hometown is certainly no stranger to being choked by smoke.
But if you’ve read my recent article, On the Brink of Life, you’ll know that Fire is a symbol of change and transformation.
It represents the destruction that leads to creation. One can’t exist without the other, so they are inseparably linked in the circle of life.
But Fire represents much more than that.
It’s a warm and luminous reminder of exactly how much work it takes for change to come.
If you’ve ever tried to start a fire without a lighter, you’ll know that it’s hard as hell. You need the right materials, not just for the kindling but for the fire kit, too. Where I’m from, the best is cedar, for both your plank and your spindle.
The shape of the tools have to be just right: Spindle straight as you can find. Notches in the fireboard big enough for air to get in, but not too big for the embers to fall out. Your kindling better be bone dry, with a nest of fine, flammable material, and a house of sticks pre-built to catch the flames as soon as the fire comes to life.
And even with all of that, you’re bound for a cold night without the right technique. Consistent pressure, to hold everything in place, but not so much that you lose control. Moving the bow back and forth in a constant, even rhythm; not too slow, not too fast.
If you do absolutely everything right, then hours of diligent effort followed by a minute of perfect technique culminate in a tiny little ember.
You’ll have to give that ember a home in the cozy tinder nest you’ve made and breathe your very life into it. One breath after another until it finally erupts into flame.
After years of the cedar tree condensing sunlight into a stable fuel source, you have provided enough of your own energy to break those chemical bonds loose and set the sunlight free again.
Changing a culture is a bit like that.
The culture, like the tree, worked hard to capture that sunlight and codify it into physical form. That form helped it grow and prosper and catch even more sunlight.
It doesn’t want to burn. It doesn’t want to change.
And why would it? From their point of view, this is all completely normal. Business as usual.
But change is the spice of life! Evolution is nature’s modus operandi. Any living system that tries to avoid change becomes stagnant. A breeding ground for disease.
Disease can be quite stealthy. Quite insidious, when it becomes the norm.
Especially when we unconsciously equate “normal” with “good” and never critically analyze that sentiment.
Change can be quite uncomfortable, too. I’m quite fond of telling struggling friends that pain is a symptom of change, both in wounding and in healing.
Because it’s absolutely true.
Everything in the Universe operates in patterns. What is intends to be. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and objects at rest tend to stay at rest.
That’s not just a law of physics, though. It’s also a law of ideas, traditions, and values. All social constructs. How could we do anything other than model our ideas on the laws and patterns already established in Nature?
The pattern does not simply wish to continue. It merely is continuing by its very nature.
When we want to change the pattern, there is inertia; resistance. As we put our energy into overcoming that resistance, we create friction.
And with enough friction, you can create Fire.
In all that friction, energy is released. The energy builds upon itself, each ember keeping its neighbors warm. The more the energy is concentrated, and the more breath of life it is given, the faster it builds.
Until it eventually erupts and takes on a self-sustaining life of its own.
Fire teaches us that there is only a fine line between destruction and creation. But in the end, it’s clear to see that creation is the prevailing force. Creation leads the charge as energy flows, and destruction follows in its wake. When creation takes hold and learns to breathe on its own, it carves its own path, leaving only ashes behind.
For real and lasting change to occur, destruction and creation must be held in equal measure, but creation must always lead the way.
If destruction is the focus, the most you will ever see are small embers and broken twigs.
You will not create Fire.
That is why it is so sad for me to live in a culture where the main design for bringing change is to destroy the “enemy”, rather than to support our allies. So much of the world is caught in a cycle of hate begetting hate, and getting revenge instead of making amends.
It is so simple, they teach it to us in kindergarten.
“An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.”
And yet loud voices would rather scream blame and call for destruction than to support the neighbors who, in turn, support them.
It is genuinely saddening, beyond measure.
That is why I am leaving that culture behind. I’m disinvesting my energy from the hatred and the anger, and placing myself in environments of mutual support and communal wellbeing.
No organism is separate from its environment. Everything exists in an unbreakable web of interconnection. As much as you shape your environment, your environment shapes you. That’s why it is so crucial to take space away from the things that drain you and lead you to despair. And why it is equally important to surround yourself with the beautiful things that lead you to a joyful life.
You can choose to give your energy to that which supports life, peace, joy, and love.
The energy we have to give is limited. Every ounce of it we give to hatred is an ounce that has gone to waste. Some would disagree, especially in a world in dire need of change. I encourage those people to ask themselves:
When has hate ever made you (or anyone else) feel good? When has anger ever led you to greater health? When has violence ever brought lasting peace?
How is it more efficient to change the external world instead of your internal world?
What you give your energy and attention to will undoubtedly grow. As they grow, the rest will wither, and fall away. You can choose to grow good crops or weeds, but either way, you will be sure to harvest their fruits.
Finding the Light
Many will say that these are challenging and unprecedented times.
That has always been the case, from the start of human history.
No matter how dark these times may be, we can always remember that shadows are our compass to find the light. Wherever the shadow points, simply turn the opposite way, and you are sure to face the light. All of the struggles we are facing as a global community are golden opportunities to find the truth, so long as we do not lose ourselves in the shadows.
It is easy to point fingers. It is easy to blame others for our troubles. It is easy to fall into despair and ask, “What is the point of doing anything at all?”
But easy doesn’t create a better world.
It wasn’t easy for our earliest ancestors to make Fire.
But if they hadn’t, none of us would be here.
It will take hard, diligent work, focused more on creation than destruction, to create a culture that can exist in harmony with the world, and a society where humans can live in peace with each other.
That world will not be built with bombs, walls, or snipers on the rooftops.
Those patterns will only proliferate themselves into further violence and segregation. It’s like teaching a child: no matter how hard you try to teach the lesson, they will always pay more attention to the method of teaching than the lesson itself.
That world will not be built by perpetuating the same paradigms while saying “if only we do it RIGHT this time.”
Trying the same thing over and over again while expecting different results is the definition of insanity.
Albert Einstein once said:
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
The world we need will be created by giving energy to something new.
By giving our energy to systems founded upon love, compassion, and reciprocity.
By caring enough to sacrifice our personal comforts and opinions for collective wellbeing.
By having the courage to change ourselves instead of the arrogance to force it upon others.
By listening to the quiet voices and unpopular opinions.
Because those are the only places where new ideas will be found.
When we find the ideas that spark love in our Hearts, and breathe our breath of life into them each and every day, we will surely see even the smallest embers grow into mighty flames, indeed.