Waiting in the Garden: Stories of hula-hoops, humus and holy crappola
We had a lively and wonderful gathering for the March Central Oregon Fire Circle last night, March 21st. Great fire with the full moon rising over the back fence. Several new people, as well as regulars and us old-timers came out for the celebration of the coming of the light or spring AND at the same time the holy darkness that is Good Friday. The individual topics seemed to have umbrella themes. Last night's themes were: swamplands of the soul; the difficulty of transitions from so-called 'sacred space' to 'profane space'; waiting in the Garden or staying in the shroud of Holy Friday without jumping to Resurrection. And of course all those strands were connected and dancing with each other in the Fire.
As always, we had some hearty belly laughs and some pregnant moments of grief during the evening. One of the moments of laughter circled around the story of Jack Kennedy's apparent death and resurrection. Another moment was when one of the group paraphrased a quote about existence being like '*** on a hulahoop'. This, of course, eventually became transformed by the group to Holy Crap..and we all got 'it'.
So here's the secret to living life well (and to think that you'd find it on the internet!):
Accept that life just 'is'. No amount of explanations or theorizing, philosophizing or theologizing will make it other than that. And it is circular and twisted, profane and profound. It's indescribably precious and we want to run screaming into the night from it. There may not be balance in this lifetime (thanks, John B.) And again, there may be. As much as want to believe that the cup is half-empty...it's also half-full! Who knew?
In that radical acceptance is our clarity and peace of mind. This aceptance doesn't answer the perennial questions, but it just may open our minds to experience the answers when they land as lightly as a butterfly on our shoulder.
Stay under the shroud, my friends. Wait in the Garden. Resurrection will probably come. In the meantime, there's sweetness, sadness, potential beyond our wildest imagination in the dank humus. Definition of humus: any organic matter which has reached a point of stability, where it will break down no further and might, if conditions do not change, remain essentially as it is for centuries, if not millennia.
In the recipe for life-well-lived: Just add light to the homeostasis of humus, and voila...the fire is lit, the stored sunlight of the wood is now released...and resurrection and re-birth occur.
Great time out under the full-moon rising, and the cold freezing our buttocks. I think we should do it again...next month! For a directory of Sacred Fire Community Fire Circles around the world, click here.
Beth, VTH Host and Initiated Fire Keeper
The Virtual Tea House website became 'word-ripe' when, over a cup of jasmine green, I realized that the web has an expanding part to play in the communal aspects of spiritual growth.
One of my favorite hats, among several is: initiated firekeeper in the Sacred Fire Community. Hosting a monthly community fire circle, I'm being taught that the simple act of sitting around a fire with the intent of holding open-hearted space makes for some soulful community!
My career spans 20 years in end of life care and I currently work in the field of child abuse intervention and advocacy.
Here in beautiful Central Oregon, my spiritual homes of the high desert and the mountains are both in proximity. And for good measure, four hours away is Grandmother Ocean and the stunning Oregon Coast.
I'm making decent progress on the goal set by my mother early on: she taught us that the goal of humanity should be to become ever-more eccentric, i.e. more fully human.
Entering the 'forest-dweller' phase of life, I am honored to host the Virtual Tea House for all who wish to explore how our lives are enriched and made new a thousand times each day by the spirituality we embody. Exploring this engagement together is the purpose of the Virtual Tea House.
Welcome! Let's have a cup of virtual tea together and share what brings us joy, what we are being taught by life, how we are leaning into the Big Questions posed to us each day in sometimes 'distressing disguises'.