The Yin and Yang of Fire

Seeing the Yes, AND.

HH Grandmaster Professor Lin Yun, founder of BTB Feng Shui was a Master in seeing the yin in the yang. He was not one to see black OR white but had the insight and deep wisdom to see the AND.

Here in Arizona, this New England native is experiencing my first exposure to wildfires. Looking on the US map much of the West coast appears prone to the same.

Uncontrolled wildfires have the power to devour everything in their path leaving a landscape of devastation. Yet they also awaken and purify. They surely have gotten everyone’s attention in the area.

In balance, the fire element connotes enthusiasm, joy, dance!  A candle is lit to open a ceremony inviting inspiration. The flame provides light in the depths of darkness.

I heard a local shaman compare the smoke on the horizon from nearby wildfires as a great smudging, the smoke purifying the area. The yin in the yang. While the smoke triggers concern to most, this perspective shifts attention from fear to contemplation. While we don’t wish for extreme wildfires to wake us to see the yin in the yang, this viewpoint returns our psyche to equilibrium to take a closer look, embracing the Nature of all things.

As we are each a micro reflection of the macro collective, consider what might need purifying from your life without approaching a point of devastation.  How can we embrace unexpected challenges and see the yin in the yang; the Yes, AND.