Bless The Fire Through Which We Walk

Bless The Fire Through Which We Walk

watercolor on watercolor board.

Bless the fire through which we walk. Trial by fire is when we face the most difficult challenges in our lives. We rarely seek it, but all eventually walk this ordeal. There are individuals and societies whose lives are one long challenge and they endure the unendurable, release occurring only through death. For others it occurs in a less drastic form, and a phase of peace follows in which to rest and replenish prana. No matter how torturous the challenge becomes, eventually the flames will subside. In one way or another, like the great cycles of the seasons, tides, cycles of the moon and stars, change must and will occur. The great wheel never ceases to spin.

So when the flames and heat of this phase in life have dissipated, reach gingerly into the still warm cinders, representing what remains of the old life, and gently close the hand around what has been found, take it to a safe place. Blow off the fine ash and examine what has been salvaged after the inferno. Whats found depends upon the individual. I don’t know if the manner of perceiving a situation is something we are born with, or a choice we make at some stage along the way. I do know that in any culture, two people with similar lives, even siblings, can experience the same challenge and come away with radically opposed impressions.

After a crisis has passed and life stabilized, I’ve sometimes dusted away the ash, and brooding over the past, seen nothing but cinders and chips of blackened bone in my palm. As time passed, however, and pondering the charred bone, I came to realize that what I held was precious. The intense heat of the fire burned off the dross of my inner self, no polluting base metals remained to dull its glimmer. Forgiveness and acceptance of what is had occurred on a deep level, almost on their own it seemed.

In this painting I’m attempting to portray that moment of realization, that walking through fire was also a form of purifying radiance. The flames have tempered and fine tuned the spirit, causing it to resonate in mellow tones, and from the ashes emerges a winged spirit of pure gold. The human spirit is resilient, we are far stronger than we imagine. All forms arise then fall back into the void from which they came, nothing lasts forever. Trust the process and open the inner eye. Move into the moment, into the Now, for we are already whole.

The person in the image is rising from ashes of the past and unfurling her wings, lifting her head and preparing to stretch her neck and back. She is radiant and illuminates the night with her power. She knows the source of her strength is within herself and all sentient beings, nobody and nothing can take it away. The circle represents wholeness, completion, balance, the feminine, moon and sun.

Text and Image copyright 1995, Helena Nelson –Reed. Please do not use either without written permission.

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