1/21/11 – Berthoud Pass

The road to Winter Park revealed the majestic snowy peaks of the mountains. The high winds were blowing the powder off the peaks and valleys into huge morphing castles of snow. These huge eddies created awesome sky monsters that traversed the highest parts of the world with their play. These vast elemental forces had me feel small and tiny in the presence of their awesome power. Their ease of movement showed me the play of the gods of this place – communing directly with the raw qi of the heavens. As I felt my car rocked by the blasts of winds and snows I felt so out of place in this cauldron of matter forming and dissolving - shapeless, powerful, dangerous, pure alchemy, pure magic. Only the pine forests stood as sentinels watching over the play of the gods – an army of witnesses.

When we’re overwhelmed by the forces of the world around us that seem to move in chaos and control we can seem powerless and awestruck by life in such a way that we feel insecure even being in the presence of people who move with such ferociousness in life. This gave me the feeling of being intimidated by a power greater than us. If we do not trust Heaven and Earth and are flung into life with an outlook of cowering before it, we truly can occur as powerless. These feelings remind me of BL 67, Extremity of Yin. Even in the most extreme of circumstances in life, we can reach for the depths of our reserves and connect with the mother element, Metal – to give us a connection with Heaven and a renewed trust in the Universe.