I sat transfixed to our local news station, watching the play-by-play commentary as #HurricaneMatthew bore down on the east coast of Florida. On the west side of our side of the state, we weren’t profiled to be in the direct line of fire, but having lived over a decade in the “Sunshine State”, we have all come to know the unpredictability of Mother Nature. And so, as always, I was prepared with my flashlights, bottled water, a full tank of gas, individual servings of prepared food items that didn’t need refrigeration or cooking, and a couple extra dollars cash in case the ATMs went out. It’s our annual drill, from June until November - #HurricaneSeason. I knew enough to know not to keep too much frozen foods in my fridge as one year after 2 weeks of no electricity, I ended up throwing out 3 large (lawn-sized!) garbage bags of frozen meats & seafood.
The weatherman was very descriptive of the wind, rains and lightning that railed down on us during the peak of this storm. He was even amazed that we were seeing so many lightning strikes in the middle of the storm, and remarked that THAT - in & of itself - was an attestment to the magnitude & power of the storm as it approached our coast. As if the wind itself wasn’t bad enough, with sustained speeds of more than 90mph, there was a strong potential for storm surges and floodings to everything in its path. All of this was happening to our coast, after Matthew had already destroyed the southwestern section of Haiti, leaving hundreds dead in its wake. The devastation was horrific. I felt for Haiti, having done medical mission work there after their last hurricane. I prayed again like I never prayed before, for all those who had been and were going to be impacted by this storm, and I prayed for understanding and acceptance of what we were witnesses to. There were no explanations. There never is for disasters of this magnitude.
We were spared on the West Coast of Florida, but the East Coast didn't do as well. I shuffled my tarot deck and asked for 1 card to represent the symbolism behind what I was witnessing. That card? The Tower (Rider Waite deck). Depicted on the Tower card is the imagery of a tower being hit by lightning, the building crumbling, people falling to their demise, and torrential rain & wind. The symbolism was not lost on me. I silently sat and prayed for what was going on over on the other side of town, while a gentle rain silently fell outside my home. Safe in my home, I looked again at the Tower card cradled in my palm, and remembered a promise I made to myself to move in harmony with the Moon & the Stars. “Yeah tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…. Let this lightning be reflective of that out-of-the-blue charge we need to change the dynamics of our present circumstances, to clear the energy of what was going on our planet, to bring light to the darkness of fear; May this rain – the tears of Mother Earth - cleanse and purify us of all that was painful, stagnant and starved of life, and bring to us the nourishment that we desperately needed; And oh that the winds of change would blow through and release from us the chains of binding thoughts and beliefs that hold us back from our Soul’s purpose”. I prayed for the Yin to the Yang of the elements of this storm. I prayed for release and for healing.
Many people were left without power, and in the darkness of the hours and days that followed, were left to deal with their inner demons or take comfort in each other - and gratitude for all that was spared. With no cell phones, TV or social media to distract us from was going on around in the world around us and in our lives, we were forced to rely on each other. Neighbors who were strangers before the storm now looked out for each other. By the time Hurricane Matthew had blasted its way up the eastern coast of Florida, we were numerologically at the number 9: the number of completion and endings. The morning after the storm, I woke up before dawn to an undeniably present stillness, the pulse of which was eerily present even on our side of town. The ground had been cleared and prepped by the forces of Mother Nature in preparation for the new seeds of hope that were being planted - literally and figuratively - in our communities. At time of writing today we are numerologically at the number 2: the seeds have been planted and life begins anew. There is a strong breeze today with cooler temperatures that beckon the ending of our summer season and the promise of change as we approach Fall in Florida. Yes, it is the season of change. Let the healing begin.
“Mother Nature is always speaking. She speaks in a language understood in the peaceful mind of the sincere Observer” (Radhanath Swami)
Audrey Steele, L.Ac.
www.Acupuncture4YourHealth.com
The weatherman was very descriptive of the wind, rains and lightning that railed down on us during the peak of this storm. He was even amazed that we were seeing so many lightning strikes in the middle of the storm, and remarked that THAT - in & of itself - was an attestment to the magnitude & power of the storm as it approached our coast. As if the wind itself wasn’t bad enough, with sustained speeds of more than 90mph, there was a strong potential for storm surges and floodings to everything in its path. All of this was happening to our coast, after Matthew had already destroyed the southwestern section of Haiti, leaving hundreds dead in its wake. The devastation was horrific. I felt for Haiti, having done medical mission work there after their last hurricane. I prayed again like I never prayed before, for all those who had been and were going to be impacted by this storm, and I prayed for understanding and acceptance of what we were witnesses to. There were no explanations. There never is for disasters of this magnitude.
We were spared on the West Coast of Florida, but the East Coast didn't do as well. I shuffled my tarot deck and asked for 1 card to represent the symbolism behind what I was witnessing. That card? The Tower (Rider Waite deck). Depicted on the Tower card is the imagery of a tower being hit by lightning, the building crumbling, people falling to their demise, and torrential rain & wind. The symbolism was not lost on me. I silently sat and prayed for what was going on over on the other side of town, while a gentle rain silently fell outside my home. Safe in my home, I looked again at the Tower card cradled in my palm, and remembered a promise I made to myself to move in harmony with the Moon & the Stars. “Yeah tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…. Let this lightning be reflective of that out-of-the-blue charge we need to change the dynamics of our present circumstances, to clear the energy of what was going on our planet, to bring light to the darkness of fear; May this rain – the tears of Mother Earth - cleanse and purify us of all that was painful, stagnant and starved of life, and bring to us the nourishment that we desperately needed; And oh that the winds of change would blow through and release from us the chains of binding thoughts and beliefs that hold us back from our Soul’s purpose”. I prayed for the Yin to the Yang of the elements of this storm. I prayed for release and for healing.
Many people were left without power, and in the darkness of the hours and days that followed, were left to deal with their inner demons or take comfort in each other - and gratitude for all that was spared. With no cell phones, TV or social media to distract us from was going on around in the world around us and in our lives, we were forced to rely on each other. Neighbors who were strangers before the storm now looked out for each other. By the time Hurricane Matthew had blasted its way up the eastern coast of Florida, we were numerologically at the number 9: the number of completion and endings. The morning after the storm, I woke up before dawn to an undeniably present stillness, the pulse of which was eerily present even on our side of town. The ground had been cleared and prepped by the forces of Mother Nature in preparation for the new seeds of hope that were being planted - literally and figuratively - in our communities. At time of writing today we are numerologically at the number 2: the seeds have been planted and life begins anew. There is a strong breeze today with cooler temperatures that beckon the ending of our summer season and the promise of change as we approach Fall in Florida. Yes, it is the season of change. Let the healing begin.
“Mother Nature is always speaking. She speaks in a language understood in the peaceful mind of the sincere Observer” (Radhanath Swami)
Audrey Steele, L.Ac.
www.Acupuncture4YourHealth.com
