The volcanic eruption in Hawaii this week got me thinking a bit about some of the symbolism that is attached. I also began thinking about the idea of fire and the many religions/cultures that have purification rituals that involve fire. The most immediate myth is the proverbial Phoenix rising from the ashes, and the idea that in death there is the possibility for rebirth. If we consider physics, and the fact that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be converted…this idea of regeneration is actually quite plausible.
As the volcano erupts through numerous releases; smoke, fire, lava, gas – it impacts and changes the ecosystem around it. A new layer of lava creates a new fresh foundation. True, the volcano is a dramatic and destructive method of “starting over”, but – of course I speak metaphorically here – sometimes it’s easier to burn the house down than to try and fix all the cracks in the wall, and sometimes it takes the house burning down to get us to move.
I remember, years ago, in the months before my ex-husband & I separated, my home had started to feel like a prison. I was trapped in an energy I didn’t know how to get out of. One night our neighbor across the courtyard had a fire in her apartment. Thankfully no one was at home at the time, so no injuries, but I remember thinking: she gets to start over now. It will be annoying and tedious and long and exhausting…but she gets to rewrite her home. I found something very liberating in her situation.
So, if there is an area of your life that feels like it’s going down in flames, up in smoke, reaching a boiling point, about to explode, or struck by lightning, I want you to remember the myth of the Phoenix. As they say in Italian “not all bad comes to harm you”. Try to see the seeds of new beginnings in any endings you may be dealing with at the moment. Focus on converting that energy. Don’t cling to that which is trying to leave you. It’s making space for fresh new foundations.
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Greatness awaits!
