Kelly Carlin-McCall

Kelly Carlin-McCall

Posted December 25, 2008 | 04:49 PM (EST)

A Pele Christmas: An Encounter with a True Meaning of the Holiday

digg Share this on Facebook Huffpost - stumble reddit del.ico.us RSS

As I sat Christmas morning meditating as the dawn broke here in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean over Hawaii, I was struck by the many faces of the Ultimate Unknown/Known Otherness (traditionally named God) that were presented to me.

There was the dawn itself, the light emerging, and then washing over me and this land.
The land. There is this land. The greenest green. The most lushest luciousness. The most life filled life bursting forth.
And then the sea. Vast. Deep. All Powerful.

I then thought of my encounter with Pele. 11 years ago, after my mom's death, I could not face Christmas in Los Angeles, so my father rented a house on the Big Island, so that our family could get away to a place that could hold us in our darkness. The Big Island can do just that, for she holds the manifestation of manifestation herself - Pele.

We took a helicopter ride to go and see her. We flew over the live volcano, a hole in the ground where we could see the most primal, elementary aspect of life on this planet - liquid rock. Its energy was like nothing I had ever encountered - RAW, UNFLINCHING CREATION right before my eyes. I was witnessing the very act of creation itself. My body/mind felt like it had been entered by a force beyond anything I could ever imagine. I knew I had seen the Ultimate Unknown/Known Otherness of LIfe itself. But then at that very same moment, I looked over at my dad, and saw that he was holding a small picture of my mom, angled so that she could see Pele too. My heart burst open with a love so huge, I had no idea that it could feel that. And in that moment I knew that human love, aching, raw, cut you in half human love was part of the same creation inside that volcano. That both these forces were equal in their ability to build something up, and to cut us in two. That the human heart is a vessel for Creation itself.

As I faced this Christmas Day without either of my parents, I was filled with the mystery of it all. I cannot know anything about where they are now, how much they are here or not here with me. All I could do was let my heart fill with the beauty and love I felt that morning as the dawn poured over me, and at the same time let it break in half and be destroyed by the loneliness I feel now that I am an orphan. And I can do this because I know that like Pele and that volcano just a few miles away from me today, Life itself will go on, move through me, you and everything on this planet, and my heart will rebuild itself each day in little ways that can only astonish me if I let it.

 
Comments
10
Pending Comments
0
iPhone App Promo

Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to

View Comments:

A beautiful description of the earth's recycling process. And still more proof that it'll still be spinning
when we humans have moved along. For me the best part of the story was George holding Brenda's photo so she could see the action, once again proving his thoughtfulness.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:52 PM on 12/26/2008
- Kelly Carlin-McCall - Huffpost Blogger I'm a Fan of Kelly Carlin-McCall permalink

Yes. Like I have said before - his capacity to love was huge.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:03 PM on 12/28/2008

Kelly,

You are a poet in all things you convey. It is a pleasure to read your thoughts and feelings committed to print.

Thank you.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:55 PM on 12/26/2008
- Kelly Carlin-McCall - Huffpost Blogger I'm a Fan of Kelly Carlin-McCall permalink

Protagonia,
Thank you.
And thanks for being part of it all.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:05 PM on 12/28/2008

Thank you giving me this
reminder of how wonderfully healing the earth and the human spirit can be. It was a lovely way to start my day. Well, that and my big mug of coffee. :)

You rock.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:59 AM on 12/26/2008
- Kelly Carlin-McCall - Huffpost Blogger I'm a Fan of Kelly Carlin-McCall permalink
    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:06 PM on 12/28/2008
photo

Wow ... so glad I found your articles. Look forward to reading them. They take me to another place.

Don

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:36 PM on 12/25/2008
- Kelly Carlin-McCall - Huffpost Blogger I'm a Fan of Kelly Carlin-McCall permalink

Don,
Thank you. That made my day.

Kelly

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:47 AM on 12/26/2008

Kelly, I don't want to say much, just "thank you" for giving me this tonight.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:39 PM on 12/25/2008
- Kelly Carlin-McCall - Huffpost Blogger I'm a Fan of Kelly Carlin-McCall permalink

And thank you for giving it right back.

Kelly

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:47 AM on 12/26/2008
Comments are closed for this entry

You must be logged in to reply to this comment. Log in  or  Connect