I am just now being led back to creating an entry here. It has been difficult to capture all the feelings and thoughts flowing through me during the past couple of weeks. Living in San Diego during the recent Wildfire event has brought many challenges, blessings, and lessons. The initial challenge for me was to "walk the talk" of choice. Choosing to view this occurrence just as it is without judging it was especially difficult during the 24-7 news coverage.
For some reason, I have been having resistance to writing in this blog for the past few weeks. The intention has been there, but the desire and energy has not. I have given up on forcing myself to do anything I do not want to do or
feel like doing. I haven't tried to understand why I wasn't in the right vibration for communicating in this space; I leave that up to the Divine. The only thing to focus on now is that I AM back to this.
So I will attempt to catch-up on the past few weeks and provide some pics that will help to illuminate this part of my journey. This one is of the sunrise (taken from Cowles Mtn) the morning of the 21st (Sunday). The fires would begin this day in the east county area (the mountains you see the sun coming up behind).
The Wild Fires occupied attention and focus (and continue to do so) during this time. It is very ironic that my previous post was about resiliency and renewal from the previous fire event (Cedar Fires) that occurred here in 2003. Fortunately my friend's rebuilding efforts were not destroyed as her area was spared this time. That can not be said for quite a few folks in this area. Although the Cedar Fires were the largest in our local history, they had the unintended benefit of reducing the amount of possible damage during this event. Kind of gives a new perspective on fire damage, eh? Not to belittle the trauma that has been caused to many, but the fact is these events DO have a purpose. If we come from a perspective of responsibility, Divine purpose, and non-judgement, we can view this event as an opportunity. An opportunity to express our best selves. An opportunity to learn. An opportunity to be more than how we view ourselves.
This is a picture of the sunset Sunday evening (21st), taken from Fiesta Island (Mission Bay area). Smoke from the fires was drifting towards the ocean. At this point the fires were beginning to rage out of control and Mother Nature was exerting her muscles via strong Santa Ana winds (up to 70 mph gusts). Those winds drove the fires through the Rancho Bernado, Rancho Santa Fe, Poway, and Ramona neighborhoods. The scope of the fires hadn't really begun to hit home to those in the immediate San Diego area; people were pretty much going about their daily routines. The evacuation calls would go out this evening as these pics illustrate.
We went to bed concerned, but not alarmed, as this is the fire season in SoCal. The media hadn't gotten into the full drumbeat of hysteria as yet.
The morning greeted us much differently with constant updates of road closures and mandatory evacuation notices broadcast continuously via the airwaves and internet. The air was acrid and dense with smoke. We had to close up all windows and openings to the outdoors, which emphasized the dire warnings to stay off the roads and indoors. The 24/7 news coverage fanned flames of a different sort as our media types raced each other to bring us the latest information first and best. In fairness to them, I personally believe they provided good service to the area. I was pretty addictive to find out and view the latest images and info as it was presented. I normally don't watch TV, but found myself either in front of it or viewing newscasts online. It did get pretty repetitive after awhile and began to get numbing over time. At home I was safe and relatively unaffected, while other fellow citizens were being evacuated from their homes or were fighting to save them.
One of the lessons for me during this time was the fact that the universe decides what/when is good timing. I was in the process of finalizing job prospects between two companies and the outlook was very positive in both cases. I ended-up with offers from both companies, but the fires disrupted what I thought the timing should be. So even though I was being provided with great opportunities, I was reminded emphatically that the timing is not on my schedule.
These shots are of the sunset on Tuesday (23rd) taken from Rancho Mission Canyon. The smoke was in full flow and made for interesting colors. At this point I was busy helping manning the phone banks of Volunteer San Diego's disaster response team. I also helped at the Qualcomm evacuation site distributing food to the evacuee's. It was very rewarding to see my community respond to the disaster as it did. We were turning volunteer's and food donations away due to the huge response. It was such a great feeling to be a part of the energy of giving that permeated Qualcomm. VSD's phone lines and website were inundated with prospective volunteers and we were hard-pressed to keep pace. In a sense it is unfortunate that it took a disaster to transform the normally disinterested, self-absorbed SD community into a caring, giving populace. But that's my judgement and something I must let go of.
Things finally got back into a slight semblance of control on Friday (26th) as the winds began to shift to a more normal westerly direction. The fires weren't out, but we could sense the change in intensity. We began to think in terms of recovery (and that is ongoing now). People were being allowed back into their neighborhoods to assess damage and recover what was left. The news stories were focusing on the heroics and also some of the negativity began to creep back in; life was getting back to normalcy. The majority of San Diegans were physically unaffected by these events and it was evidenced in the return of normal modes of behavior. The fires would not be officially contained until the 29th.
So now the community is in lessons learned mode. The 2003 fire lessons helped us to get through this one in a more effective manner, but there is still much to improve. The VSD Disaster Cadre set-up was a big help and I am very grateful to be a part of it. Being of service is one of the purposes of this life (IMHO). The feelings that I receive from helping are more than enough compensation and fulfill the essence of joy of living. If all of us made the effort to give to one another, what would this world be like?
So, I am very thankful for the lessons provided during this time. I am continually amazed by the universe's diverse ways of providing us with experiences to grow from. What a wonderful opportunity we have been given to examine our lives and realize that there is more to it than chasing things external to us. Many folks here have been given the opportunity to see their life in a different manner and to realize what is truly important in their lives. What would you deem important enough to keep if you had to evacuate your home in 15 minutes? Who/what is most important to you? Could you start over now? The universe will test you on that someday.
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