Weathering With the Elements
by Pam Montgomery

On this late March day I have the exquisite pleasure of sitting quietly outside allowing my senses to revel in the delight of emerging spring. As the Grandfather of fire arcs higher in the sky each day, his northward march brings rays more directly to our spot on the Earth. The sun penetrates my skin and muscles held tight by winter’s cold and now relax with the ease of external heat generation. Ah, such sweet release into the embrace of light soaked warmth. The intensity of midday light with the rapid color changes that my eye senses only in this degree of brightness almost becomes a blur of visual stimulation. What a difference from the more subtle twilight when the majority of my eye sensors pick up detailed but slower movement and I can “see” more of what is really there! As this warmth and light drench the Earth she too lessens her grip on frozen soil releasing the most blessed aromatherapy of all – thawing Earth – that undeniable healing scent that triggers inward and outward renewal. Her skin comes alive with a myriad of insects, flies and moving creatures while robins, red winged blackbirds and chickadees delight in spring feasting. On closer examination tiny green shoots can be seen here and there as She begins to weave a green cloak around Her. Nibbling brings bursts of flavor as taste buds awaken to the vitality held in these original foods. Each of these new shoots drinks mightily from the life-giving waters recycling from time immemorial. Today’s rain, the same rain that fell millions of years ago, feeds the emerging plants with the memory of growth. Perhaps it this wise old water that teaches the new shoots how to break through the ground and urges the miraculous joining of forces – sun, carbon dioxide and water – to produce oxygen which contributes to the delicate layer of blue atmosphere we call air. Air that swirls, air that roars, air that whistles, air that rushes circling the Earth on currents of change.

These elements which give us our breath, warm and light our way, quench our thirst and nourish our body are taken for granted as something that will remain. They barely even draw attention except in the dramatic displays they exhibit in weather. It is actually through weather that we have the most conscious experience of the elements. Now we are constantly reminded of changing weather and its negative impact on our lives. Will the weather and the climate change it brings be one more thing for us to wage war on? The Gaia Theory tells us that the living organism of Earth and Her atmosphere will adjust to a new level of homeostasis when pushed beyond Her existing limits. We are seeing this now in seeming dramatic weather patterns as the elements strive toward a life-giving balance. Perhaps instead of enlisting another enemy to conquer we need to embrace the changing weather and join our consciousness with that of the elements to understand the new set of requirements needed for sustainable stability. Fostering a co-creative relationship with the elements and thus the weather, could shift, in a positive way, our attitude toward climate change helping us remember when humans and weather spirits danced together engendering a mutual respect that enhances all life.Everyday we experience weather of one sort or another that is made up of the elements. What does weather have to tell us today, how can we be with it more fully? Perhaps if we embrace the vital force of weather and let these ancient elemental spirits teach us how to live in harmony within and without we can rejoin our rightful place in nature.