Over the weekend, I began a 10 week Eco-sattva course with a goal of bringing greater spiritual awareness in order to have a positive influence on the imbalances between humanity and the environment. Continuing the mind stream from my last post, the Earth doesn’t need saving. She will do just fine in the long run. Perhaps it will take ten million years to heal from the messes that the human race leaves behind – a mere blink of an eye to her.
Nonetheless, there is great reason for hope in the resiliency of the human spirit to spontaneously address the climate crisis, along with the many other problems in society such as economic inequality, the exponential increase in global refugees due to war and climate change, pollution of our air and water from our current methods of energy extraction and production (coal, oil, fracking, nuclear), racism, intolerance and apathy – to name a few. Amidst these challenges, it’s imperative that we remember to nourish ourselves, and what better way than to seek out wild nature and immerse ourselves in her arms.
I was on the trail at 7:07 a.m. Entering the forest, I was enveloped in silence. Summer’s dying breath nearly gone in the chill morning air. Slowly, but steadily ascending through the forest for 1.7 miles, I arrived at the cairn marking the exit from the Pacific Crest Trail to the right, following the boot path to the summit of Silver Peak. First timers, don’t be confused by the four switchbacks where you drop about 50 feet in elevation before the side trail turn off to Silver Peak (unmarked except for a rock cairn and a bit of faded pink ribbon in a tree). Towards the end of my hike, I met one party that had turned back when they thought they had missed the side trail, you need to keep walking another 5 to 10 minutes past the switchbacks going downhill. Once you start heading uphill again, be alert for the cairn.
I was back at the car at 11:20 a.m. home by 12:30, with just enough time to have lunch and go to my volunteer job teaching meditation at the King County Jail. May this mountain earth-water spirit bring beauty and harmony to every living being.