Global Frying

-Fire Lotus (a mandala by another artist, not me)

The core of the world, in all it's liquid heat, seems to be buckling up on itself, roiling in dry pain, taking lives, taking prisoners. Suddenly, everything appears surreal, burnt, hazy, oppressive. I felt such a strong desire to be outdoors, despite the health warnings, that I took the chance to run, and felt my throat getting raw, while my pace kept slacking as I tried to keep the rhythm. I was well on my way by 7AM, but it was already hothothot...and the sweat had begun drenching me everywhere. I stopped at each park and water fountain on the way. I took my time. I tried to get my mind off the 'catastrophic' nature of things, from work to family to Nature herself, and appreciate the movement of my body. But I felt troubled, heavy and wary...here in Florida we have not yet begun 'hurricane season' and we've been spared a few years since Wilma. Is this the year all hell breaks loose, for real??

I understand how the ancients attempted to appease their gods to take it easy on them. I can well appreciate the efforts we take to ensure a continuity in our future. I take supplements, plan class schedules for licensure, save money, all in the assumption of a steady and predictable 'tomorrow.' When I see the shots out of China, and entire cities going up in dust from the earthquake, or remember the power of Wilma attempting to knock down my windows, I know we are now in the grip of forces way outside our control. We unleashed this genie...we took power that could serve us, create new growth on sustainable levels and allowed it to take us over. There may be no going back, hard to say. We've known civilizations in the past to blow out of history on a blast of smoke, wave or other devastation. This time, as we wobble our way through the matrix of paradigm shifts, a bigger array of forces is suddenly infiltrating our narrow focus. If this is our way out, where are we going? To repeat our suffering, or to redeem ourselves into a New World?