Happy Independence Day America! Traditionally, on the 4th of July, after a day of parades and BBQ’s, many Americans watch firework displays to celebrate our independence. Due to all the fires in Colorado, there will not be any fireworks where I live. Since I live in Colorado Springs, there is an EXTREME risk and not even a sparkler is allowed here. But it is important to remember this day and celebrate anyway you can.
In Colorado Springs, one way to celebrate is by giving a tribute to the firefighters and families who were directly affected by the Waldo Canyon fire by shining flashlights into the sky at 9:30 p.m. I thought this was a great idea. If you live in Colorado Springs, consider this act of kindness. Shine the light! And let the whole world see! =)
Fireworks on the Fourth of July. Happy Birthday America! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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About Julie McElroy
Thanks Julie,
Well, although I live in Australia, we too are used to bushfires, that sometimes turn into firestorms.. And, well today is also an important date for me too.. as it is the 12th anniversay of my leaving the family business & my hometown for the first time in my life.. And, so hitting the road to explore the larger world out there.. selling up most of my things etc & getting on the train to stay with friends in Sydney, while I worked out what I wanted to do & where I wanted to go… I was 35 at the time.. So this date is also my very own personal Independance Day… And, so here I am all these years later back where I started, having since gone on many solo journeys around the world etc.. Although of course the greatest journey is that within.. of becoming oneself, in one’s own right.. As opposed to be afraid to take those important little or big steps in one’s life, that lead us to the core of ourselves.. the unique Soul that is hidden deeply within us all… And, isn’t that the purpose of life.. to be who we naturally are.. Although as I have discovered, the Yoga is easy to say, much harder to live…. as my favourite astrologer, Stephen Forrest likes to say… another great American astrologer & deep human beging that I have learned much from….
I first visited the US in Feb 2004, landing in LA, before going off to spend a few days in San Fransisco.. before then heading off to NY, before flying off to London on my round the world ticket… I have been a great fan of Sci-fi & Star Trek for many years.. like many others… And, I still remember the phenomena that was the beginning of the Star Wars saga, back in 1977.. And, which I recently wrote a blog about, as the archetypal Hero’s Journey.. Thankyou George etc et al.. While I have also loved the Spirit of freedom that has been the shining light in the world against.. oppression etc.. The Freedom Riders, Martin Luther King, the beatnic poets & the whole 1960′s revolution etc et al…. While I also realise that there is also no “light” without “the dark”.. finding myself listening to many audio discussions with the great modern mythologist & story teller, & a true Wise Elder Michael Meade talking about America, the light & the dark.. And, how retelling the ancient tribal stories & myths may be able to help us all deal with the great time’s of crisis that the world is all currently moving through…. along with also calling us to return to becoming poets & philosphers.. returning to the writings of the mystic poets like Rumi & Hafez.. along with other modern poets like Roethka’s ‘In a Dark Time’.. The Uncertainty Principle indeed… Like a firestorm that suddenly sweeps through & takes us out of our “normal” everyday world etc….
In a Dark Time
In a dark time, the eye begins to see,
I meet my shadow in the deepening shade;
I hear my echo in the echoing wood–
A lord of nature weeping to a tree.
I live between the heron and the wren,
Beasts of the hill and serpents of the den.
What’s madness but nobility of soul
At odds with circumstance? The day’s on fire!
I know the purity of pure despair,
My shadow pinned against a sweating wall,
That place among the rocks–is it a cave,
Or winding path? The edge is what I have.
A steady stream of correspondences!
A night flowing with birds, a ragged moon,
And in broad day the midnight come again!
A man goes far to find out what he is–
Death of the self in a long, tearless night,
All natural shapes blazing unnatural light.
Dark, dark my light, and darker my desire.
My soul, like some heat-maddened summer fly,
Keeps buzzing at the sill. Which I is _I_?
A fallen man, I climb out of my fear.
The mind enters itself, and God the mind,
And one is One, free in the tearing wind.
– Theodore Roethke
Darrell recently posted..Tending the Sacred Flame of the Soul Within….
Thank you for sharing part of your journey!