The Portal Has Opened
When Crisis and Apocalypse provide the threshold for a new story
My block has become a hub for our part of Topanga Canyon. Most natural disasters hit and run, hurricanes blow through, tornadoes touch down, earthquakes — shake, and then sometimes shake again.
But it's almost a week later, and this firestorm lingers. Hot spots, now warm spots, are still present.
Crisis
From the Greek κρίσις (krisis) meaning 'discrimination, decision, crisis.'
It speaks of a fork in the road when a choice must be made.
The fires have played their role as the destroyer in this unfolding story: now what roles will we play in the new chapter emerging? What will we create in this new territory?
Everywhere you look someone has created a new system for a way of helping. It is an extraordinary moment of rapid emergence.
What role will one play in this new story?
The roles offered in the old climate narrative don’t appeal:
You get to play:
THE BAD GUY: This character is greedy, takes more than his share, and creates without consideration for the next 7 generations. (meh)
THE VICTIM: This character has no control over their fate and destiny and succumbs to the will of the THE BAD GUY (who wants to sign up for a losing game?)
or
THE HERO: The one who works tirelessly to save the day. Or in the case, Races to Save the Planet 24/7 since no one else will.
So let’s talk about the dangers of the hero….
In Ancient Greece, héro status was only given after one died.
In eastern philosophy, The Hero archetype is recognized as a dangerous character, often narcissistic and unreliable to follow.
When we look to Superman, he dresses up, flies in, saves the day, and goest back to being Clark Kent and hangs out with Louise Lane.
There is an intelligence in these stories that offers real world practical advice.
Too many young people have adopted The Hero Archetype and tried to play that role 24/7 in the story of The Race to Save The Planet. I’ve witnessed too many young activists develop nervous system disorders from overworking. That story is harming good people.
Meanwhile, our real life heroes, our firemen, dress up, show up for their shift, play the role, and then go home to be parents, husbands and wives, sons and daughters.
We need Heroes to put out the fire.
But to rebuild, we'll need:
+ Visionaries to imagine new possibilities
+ Builders to create sustainable structures
+ Gardeners to nurture growth and healing
+ Strategists to design win-win solutions for humans and Earth
+ Timekeepers to ensure we pause and reflect
+ Systems and Operations Geniuses to implement lasting change
There are so many new roles that want to go into the creation of our new story.
WE ARE IN A MOMENT
The place that has created, amplified, and projected more fantasy than anywhere else on the planet — is facing reality. And no one will go untouched by the changes ahead of us.
This moment is reawakening an experience I had when I was 30 . I diagnosed with cancer; it was not a life or death situation for my body, but it was a life or death situation for my soul.
For a few seconds at the beginning of that crisis, a portal opened: all the static of life went quiet. And a peephole emerged. Who I was going to be through this experience was going to define how I would live the rest of my life.
Of course I didn’t know it at the time. And this is a longer story for a different time.
The point is, crisis, while wildly inconvenient and incredibly uncomfortable offers us something ease and comfort don’t: a crisp and clear portal to see and feel what feeds one’s life force, and what doesn’t.
Apocalypse
From Greek apokalupsis, meaning 'uncover, reveal.'
(If you are scratching your head and thinking, "huh?" That word defines every doomsday movie I've ever seen!" Now you are witnessing what happens when a word gets hijacked.)
Apocalypse, a word we have been taught to fear, is necessary for paradigm shifts.
In an apocalypse, the curtain is drawn back, the man behind the curtain playing Oz is revealed, and we can see what is really there.
The fire has burned away so much:
our armor, our egos, our pettiness....
It won't always be like this.
This is our moment:
to walk through the portal of life and death and let what is ready to die be surrendered to the ashes.
Some are experiencing this through losing the materials of their homes.
But in a moment of this magnitude: the invitation is awake and alive for all of us to allow the inner fire to burn away the parts of ourselves that are ready to be surrendered to the fires of transformation.
A NEW REALITY IS BEGINNING TO SETTLE IN
But I am jumping ahead- and we are still here, learning how to negotiate a new world order.
The big question: when do we get to go home?
Will it be safe to go home?
Will it be safe to live in LA?
(There we go again with that word safe.)
The answer is yes and no.
As we examine the wind patterns, our canyon, in comparison, is pretty well off. The wind protected us in more ways than one. Our neighbors in the next canyon over are being told it isn’t safe to drink the water.
As we look at it through the lens of long term pollution created by industrial burning: we can expect up to 200 miles will be impacted by toxic dust.
I remember living in the smoke from the Northern California tubes fires. My lungs have never been the same.
“I don’t know if we can eat out of our garden anymore,” Alicia said, her boyfriend, Stephen, is a master gardener. I remember the tomatoes they brought me a few months ago. They were the taste of perfection. Something given in passing is now sweeter in memory.
Being in the ashes of one’s neighbor is complex. When the firestorm began, Topanga was surrounded by fires on three sides. Those fires sparked a rapid response from around the globe.
As luck, fate, and tragedy would have it: because of those fires—massive amounts of support was here when the fires eventually made their way to our front door.
It's an impossible thing to reconcile in one's mind and heart.
More red flag wind warnings expected next Monday and Tuesday.
Conversations with people require more patience. Everything has to be spelled out explicitly. Often repeated. Trauma brain is present. The circuits are jammed. The adrenaline has worn off.
Only when we ask our neighbors who are managing a care hub in our part of the canyon, do they gently mention a lot of the food donations have been junk food, chips, and cookies, and they are craving fresh food—real meals, so we support in what ways we can. Some send money for food and supplies. Some do errands, and pick up gasoline and fresh food, and hand it over the barricade lines to be taken up the canyon.
Elani shared what she did with our donations:
"I personally went around and made sure that I took care of the people that are helping the people, as they are forgetting to take care of themselves and someone has to make sure that they are OK too. I also made sure the whole hill got fresh food on our side of the canyon."
Feeling so grateful for our firefighters, and for everyone doing what they can in the moment.
This first image came from patch.com -- no credit given to photographer.
All other images by Topanga resident Urs Baur.
I'll post less dramatic and more behind the scenes photos in a bit-- on a plane heading to LA, with not a lot of internet connection.