7/4/2010 – The Diamonds of Hualalai

I am alone with Blondie the dog atop Hualalai. I’m completely enveloped by the clouds. Surrounded by mists all of nature stands in reverence as the mists remain motionless atop the landscape. The wet, moist seeping earth is being filled with water. Only an unseen bleating mountain goat off in the mist makes a noise. All stands still. Patiently receiving. A lonely bird cries in the distance. The panting of Blondie can be heard. The whole place stands in revered silence.

How does metal condense water? I suppose it is through its recognition of preciousness and essence. That despite a volcano’s eruption and fire melting metal and unearthing a whole bunch of it out of the heart and core of the earth’s deep treasure storehouses… it flows until it sets hard. The water that collects upon it is pure mineralized preciousness. It begins a new life cycle for new wood to grow somewhere down the mountain.

This cloudiness, this fogginess evokes a fear and uncomfortable claustrophobia. Its reminiscent of what foggy people, cloudy people must feel. There’s an element of fear involved when you’re being foggy with something – revealing nothing of your true mind. When you’re foggy it’s hard to get through to clear truth.

I don’t know whether this is water or metal kind of cloudiness – searching for the preciousness – searching for the path – but it certainly is cold and white, and you can’t see anything.

Things condense from cloud into drops of dew - from non-clarity into clarity. Murkiness always turns into clarity through stillness. It’s easy to get lost amidst the clouds and to pick the wrong direction and stray off the path home. This reminds me of people who like this fog are unclear in their communication and their presence of being. You don’t know where you stand with them, and therefore you don’t know how to move around in their presence to reach clarity.

The dewdrops of life sparkle on the leaves like precious living diamonds. The dewdrops fall on the earth and the earth literally absorbs the water. Absorbs the nourishment. That's what the earth does. It creates a space for processing, and it absorbs. Absorbing and integrating wisdom. Integrating resource. The earth learns by absorbing trees, burnt spoils and purified derivatives of fire, and preciousness of metal. It becomes what it absorbs.

Earth itself seems to be nothing and is of no value – its value is in it being a container and integrator of all. It is from this place that it can truly nourish, hold, contain, condense. Earth is nothing without movement happening on it and to it. In order to integrate, it must be porous, and not hard as clay. It must be moved by the roots (Wood’s motivating energy) to further deepen and churn the knowledge into itself. In other words, you don’t fully know something until you enflesh it and put it into action. Earth therefore must be about movement and distribution of what it integrates. It cannot serve a purpose unless people stand upon it, feel supported by it, or need it to hold their roots, and resources.

The Earth element will define itself by, or identify with the experiences, accomplishments, and knowledge that it has integrated into itself over time. I have one such friend that for the longest time did not know how to define herself. She did not know who she was for herself because she had constructed her life around being something for others. She would then take on the roles and duties required, and integrate them into her personality so well that it literally was what she was. She was well regarded for who she could become - because once she became it, she would naturally abundantly give of this new becoming. As a self-professed chameleon, she was able to change shape and mold her Earth element to become anyone she wished to be for each person who needed her to be a certain way. This malleability, like clay pottery was an asset to her being able to surround herself by many friends. She could mold herself into a jug for some, a bowl or a plate for others. However, the lack of solidity and self-definition to her Earth made her feel incomplete, a stranger to herself, her needs, her own form. When looking within to find what she needed, what form there was, she found she didn't know. Over the years of integrating many different experiences and making them her own, she discovered a direction for herself – a purpose to which to devote her life – the study of the human condition, and the needs of self and others through the field of counseling psychology. A perpetual student of experience, no doubt her path will take her forward into a PhD program and beyond. At this moment, content only with knowing rather than doing, her Earth is still saturating until this nourishment will go out into the world to feed the hungry.