Volcanoes and lava have always fascinated me. They birth new earth under high temperatures and pressures. As a geology student, I even fantasized about “lava hopping” in fields of streaming red rock from freshly erupted volcanoes in places like Hawaii or Iceland – talk about an adrenaline kick! Just make sure your insurance covers “acts of magma” …
Volcanoes are scary beasts, much like the current planetary changes. Fire spewing mountains are not to be underestimated, having wiped out entire cities and habitats. Yet, volcanic soil is among the most fertile on Earth. It’s almost like nature saying, “I’m destructive, but I’m also a great gardener.” 😉
The current planetary crises and our mental, emotional, and physical responses remind me of the pressure cookers of magma chambers and calderas. Both volcanoes and human-induced changes are beyond our immediate personal control and can elicit sensations of helplessness, powerlessness, frustration, or anxiety.
Lending the analogy of volcanic eruptions, one might ask: how can we turn these emotions into fertile soil from which new and fresh things can spring forth?
3 questions to consider:
- How can we take care of our anger and despair?
- How can we make good use of the energy stored in those emotions?
- How can we harness this energy to spur us into positive action? Taking action that is not born out of fear, but because it is the right thing to do.
Lava hopping – courtesy Dall-E
Passivity vs. action: embracing the warrior within
Like me, you might go through phases of being paralyzed by the current climate crises and the fear of the future. You probably also witness people around you who deal with the overwhelm by minimizing the crises and ignoring the elephants in the room. They soothe their stress response with denial, becoming bystanders, passive and inactive.
History has shown us that bystanders have a similar detrimental effect as the actual perpetrators. They signal the individuals of a group not to intervene and passively endure the abuse, also online and in the work context .
When you feel the urge to act and are a bit lost on how to proceed, here are two qualities that you can try to access:
- Taking peaceful stance for Mother Earth
- Embracing the peace warrior energy within
I access these qualities by contemplating the 5 remembrances of Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master and peace activist:
- I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
- I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.
- I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
- All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
- My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.
Legacy and moving forward
When I accept that when I die the only thing remaining of me are my thoughts, words, and actions, I better be careful what I am thinking, speaking and acting on. What legacy do I wish to leave behind, even though no one will remember my name?
As I consider the ground that I stand on – laid down by my actions – I ask myself: How will it feel when it’s time to move on? When I look back on my life from my death bed, I wish to say, “When it gets dark, I will know no fear”.
When we truly embrace that death does not exist there is nothing left to fear.
This allows me to access the inner peace warrior that is fearless. And to me, fearlessness does not equal recklessness. It is an invincible quality that allows me to let go of my daily worries about what other people think of me, and if they like me. It’s a secret power that allows me to do what’s right versus what’s expected from me.
Activating the inner peace warrior helps me to turn the hot magma of anguish into fertile ground from which positive action can emerge. This helps me to take care of anxiety, despair, and anger and make “good use” of the energy stored in those emotions.
Practicing this is a daily challenge for me. I am far from “enlightened”. But every day I practice, and I fail. And then I practice again, and sometimes I get it right. It’s a bit like making lava fertile soil – it takes time, patience, and a whole lot of heat! And remember, if at first, you don’t succeed, just remember that even the earth’s most fertile grounds started as fiery chaos.
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