20th anniversary Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Unspeakable Beauty

There’s something magical about September days. It’s possible to experience one or two and feel transformed simply by the unspeakable beauty and perfection that unfolds simply by ‘being.’

There’s going to be a lot of recalled trauma this weekend, especially tomorrow. Grief and sorrow will abound. Disappointment, regret, and rage will also be among the greatest hits.

Our feelings are our feelings. No one can reasonably tell us how we feel or how we ‘should’ feel. But there comes a time when the realization hits us that just feeling the feelings isn’t getting us anywhere. We need to purge them so they be transmuted or channel them into useful action.

Monarch sipping – Photo: L. Weikel

Be In Nature

If you do anything tomorrow, please: make a point of allowing yourself to be in nature. Seize the opportunity to bask in the warmth of the sun while a cool, refreshing breeze ruffles your hair and caresses your brow.

Take comfort from the birds and animals, trees and flowers and grasses with which we share this planet.

Remember to breathe.

Allow yourself to continue dreaming the dreams that only a few days ago you planted as seeds at the new moon. Look toward the west and the setting sun and pay attention to the crescent moon growing every single day. Know that it’s reflecting how your aspirations for the future, your passions for how you want to live your life are growing moment by moment. Ever so slightly, perhaps, but inexorably.

And all the while we’re surrounded by vibrant colors and astounding creatures that – if and when we notice them – make our human lives infinitely richer.

Bee finding the sweetness – Photo: L. Weikel

Find the Sweetness

So much has changed in the past twenty years. So much has changed in the past ten. It’s important to look back and appreciate what we’ve lived through, what we’ve endured, and what we’ve lost.

But it’s even more important to taste the sweetness of now.

(T-77)

Photo: L. Weikel

Shying Away

If you are shying away from the inevitable commemorations and wall-to-wall coverage that will be taking place over the next several days (especially on Saturday), I’m with you. And I’ll admit it: there’s a part of me that feels a little guilty about my visceral desire to avoid revisiting that horrific event.

That’s why I’m the first one to confess how shocked I am that I’m rushing to get this post written. Why? Because I’ve been immersed in the MSNBC special Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11. It is well worth your time.

We All Cope Differently

Everyone deals with the unthinkable in their own way. I’m not one for hashing and rehashing trauma and tragedy. That’s not to say that I don’t see the value in it for others. Sometimes we need to see and replay what we experienced because it was too shocking in the moment to comprehend. I get that. Believe me, I’ve hashed and rehashed some of my own traumatic moments. But over the years, it’s often felt to me like our honoring of 9/11 was exploitive.

The attacks on 9/11 not only inflicted devastating wounds on thousands of people personally, they also ripped away a lot of illusions we held as a country, leaving us feeling uncharacteristically vulnerable and afraid. Airing repeated images of the devastation only picked those scabs and made us bleed, year after year.

Transmuting the Pain

My personal preference is not to relive those excruciating hours of disbelief, fear for loved ones, and uncertainty about, well, everything. I would rather focus on transmuting the heartache into greater understanding and solidarity. I feel this was a huge missed opportunity as both our country and the world came together immediately afterward.

Indeed, it’s probably fair to say the unbelievable horror and loss (on so many levels) of that day and its aftermath – both short and long term – changed most of us. Indeed, I have to wonder if our focus on vengeance instead of understanding was the poisonous seed that, in its sprouting, has led to the rending of our hearts and our country.

Perspective and Story

My belief in the power of speaking and writing our truth is unshakable. I’m particularly fond of the written word because it is so accessible to all of us and also gives us the opportunity to go back and reflect upon what we’ve written after time has intervened. It’s through the telling of our stories that we effect that transmutation of our pain and transformation of our lives.

The artistic and healing project represented by Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11 is powerful, heartfelt, and hopeful. I’m glad I watched it. It’s soulful and poignant and personal, and gives us all a unique perspective into the varied experiences of those who were right there and how their lives have been transformed by that fateful day.