TheCarlaFoxBlog: Another Smokey Day

This summer has been a tough one for those of us living in the western US. The major problem has been the ongoing very dry weather and the numerous fires that are burning in many states. In my part of SW Colorado, there is a fire about 15 miles north of where I live that has been burning for several weeks now. It is almost fully contained, meaning that it is not spreading, but will be burning for an unknown time into the future. Because of that, the smoke from the fire has settled into the high valley where I live, and it is so thick that the surrounding mountains cannot be clearly seen. The smell of smoke is in the air most days.

I have to say that the measure of a person who is evolving, healing and attending to their spiritual work is how they can roll with the punches that life throws at us. It is not at all about going out of the body or escaping one’s life in any number of ways. That kind of coping behavior will guarantee that you will be coming back to give earthly life another go around! It is also not about protesting or fighting against the offending energy. That just gives it power. "What you resist will persist!"

So I make friends with the smoke and take a day here and there to get up into the mountains when I can. A few weeks ago I went with a small group of botany enthusiasts to look at the wild flowers on the tundra on Black Bear Pass, near Telluride. We drove up a very steep 4 wheel drive road to get there, and our final elevation was 12,840 feet. It rained on us a bit, but that felt so refreshing that we didn’t mind!

Here is a bighorn sheep that crossed the road right in front of us as we drove up to the start of the Black Bear Pass road. Quite an exciting sighting.