Monday, June 14, 2010

Licking the Wound

Everyday the earth is bleeding millions of gallons of oil. It is terrible to witness her injury, but too there is something powerful in her rage at the violation of such a deep puncturing. Injuries produce a similar hemorrhaging in our bodies, whether they are visible or not. Usually, we rush to stop the blood loss as quickly as possible. But there is also the thrill of making visible our own interiority, a bright red fluidity to our seemingly solid skin.

Blood is the basis of our circulatory system, it is nutrients and oxygen, the cleansing of waste. When we bleed, we can witness our own regeneration. Often we rush to cover our injuries, to bandage them, wrap them, compress them in order to reduce inflammation. But there is something powerful about presencing our injuries in the way that bleeding does, to acknowledge the damage and bare evidence of its healing. Some heal faster than others, but all injuries provide us with important information about what we want for our lives and who we want to be. Pay attention. This is what the earth is asking of us now. Listen to her, to yourselves.