Practicing the Aftermath.

Recently, Rev. Do-on has been involved in a local effort to save trees in a rare local habitat called an Oak Savannah  at our local treasure, the Oak Openings park.

As it happens, we live smack in the midst of this great natural preserve, and Rev. Do-on has a deep heart and body connection to the Ki and feeling of the place.

In fact, most days she can be found on the trails for at least some time.

But then, of course, things happen.

In this case, it was a tornado that back on June 5th decided to take a chunk of our treasured forest along with it.

So tornado's happen, of that there is not doubt.  The question then becomes what to do with the aftermath.

Kind of like my mind.

No, exactly like my mind.

And as one of the local community members that responded with such passion, care and intention, I found Rev. Do-on's efforts to be a great inspiration and model of how to engage the world of form as a priest of emptiness (in the pics above she is talking with one of the park rangers and in the other is up front at the very well attended community meeting that happened last monday).

That's the funny thing, this being a Zen priest.  To be Ordained is to step into an archetypal role - like it or not.

So, kinda like getting hit by that Tornado, the alive question for me is what to do with this mind, and what to do with the wound of this priestly archetype and its inevitable aftermath.

In some ways I have a plot (several in fact), in others more important ways I have no clue...

And in the midst of all that, I cannot help but be inspired by the dynamite lady I'm lucky enough to call wife, friend, and Priest (of course, she sometimes hits me like a Tornado herself, but thats for another post, or maybe not).

PS: By the by, her efforts with the local park meeting have obviously paid off.  Here is an article about all this in todays paper, the Toledo Blade.